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so that sometimes a whole city and a whole nation are angered, when one or two of these creatures do wrong 5.34.17. How I wish, O prophet, you had become for us an anointer instead of a prophet, or both a prophet and an anointer at the same time, so that there might be a gymnasium just as there is a Delphic oracle. For it was not at all foreign to the Pythian contest for the gymnasium also to be Pythian.” To these things I will add also what he says, refuting how those of whom the account is given were accustomed to flatter tyrants; 5.35.1 33.

THAT THEY ALSO FLATTERED TYRANTS

“Blessed is this man, who comes down to my house, Cypselus, son of Aeacides, king of renowned Corinth; Therefore also the tyrants, not only the plotters against tyrants, Cypselus, who will indeed work many woes for Corinth, 5.35.2 and Melanippus who worked many good things for the city of the Geloans. But how, if Cypselus is blessed, O ill-fated one, is not Phalaris also blessed, being of the same manner as Cypselus? So that it would be better for you that way: Happy were Phalaris and Melanippus born, leaders of divine discord among men. 5.35.3 And I heard from you also a rambling oracle about Phalaris, praising and honoring him, because having caught plotters, he tortured them, but admiring them for their endurance, he released them; Loxias and father Zeus voted a postponement of death for Phalaris, in return for how gently he behaved toward Chariton and Melanippus; but well and with difficulty have you shown us the things concerning death and life, that life is a most beautiful thing.” To all these things let this also be added; 5.36.1 34.

THAT THEY ALSO COMMANDED TO WORSHIP INANIMATE MATTER

“But it will be much better for the inhabitants of Methymna if they honor the phallic head of Dionysus. Why? For the cities sacrifice and conduct rites not only to “phallic heads of Dionysus,” but also to stone and bronze and golden ones, and not only to phallic ones, but also to Dionysus himself and to very many other Hesiodic 5.36.2 gods. For truly “thrice ten thousand are there upon the bounteous earth,” not “immortals,” but stone and wooden masters of men; who, if they “watched over the insolence and good order of men,” so much nonsense would not have been raised, so that the evil has already advanced even to you, crossing over even to Olympus, “where they say is the ever-secure seat of the gods.” 5.36.3 And yet if it were secure, it would not have been accessible to nonsense, nor would any of the Olympians have come to this point of madness as to deify a log of olive wood; which the Methymnaeans, entangled in the flax of their drag-net, drew up, and if you wish, twice and three times and more often, men fishing in the same place and from that one, having driven it ashore to the Libyan sea, did not even cast it out upon the land; 5.36.4 since, by Dionysus, it would no longer have become entangled in their flax. But the log was head-shaped at the top—O Apollo, what a strange workmanship!; what then was it doing in the sea? One might be at a loss. For what else was it doing but sitting, by Zeus, waiting until maddened men—for I will not say also gods—coming upon it should consider it not fallen from Zeus, but fallen from Poseidon, and then lead it up into the city, like some good fortune, though it was truly a bad thing, not fortune, but delusion? Or was it not enough then that it was destroying them from home, but it also strengthened and intensified it, a divinely-sent affliction, as one might say, an addition summoned from Delphi.” 5.36.5 So much from Oenomaus. But after what has been said, having passed again to the Philosophy from Oracles of the one who made the plot against us, read from the Pythian oracles concerning fate, unless also to you

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ὥστε ἐνίοτε ὅλῃ πόλει καὶ ὅλῳ ἔθνει ὀργίζεσθαι, ἑνὸς ἢ δυοῖν ἀδικούντων 5.34.17 ταῦτα τὰ θρέμματα. ὡς δὴ ὤφελες, ὦ μάντι, ἀλείπτης ἡμῖν ἀντὶ μάν τεως γενέσθαι, ἢ καὶ μάντις ἅμα καὶ ἀλείπτης, ἵν' ᾖ ὥσπερ χρηστήριον ∆ελφικὸν οὕτω καὶ γυμναστήριον. καὶ γὰρ οὐδ' ἀλλότριον ἦν ἀγῶνος Πυθικοῦ Πυθικὸν εἶναι καὶ τὸ γυμναστήριον.» Τούτοις ἐπισυνάψω καὶ ἅ φησιν ἀπελέγχων ὡς καὶ τοὺς τυράννους κολακεύειν εἰώθασιν οἱ περὶ ὧν ὁ λόγος· 5.35.1 λγʹ.

ΟΤΙ ΚΑΙ ΤΟΥΣ ΤΥΡΑΝΝΟΥΣ ΕΚΟΛΑΚΕΥΟΝ

«Ὄλβιος οὗτος ἀνήρ, ὃς ἐμὸν δόμον ἐσκαταβαίνει, Κύψελος Αἰακίδης, βασιλεὺς κλεινοῖο Κορίνθου· οὐκοῦν καὶ οἱ τύραννοι, οὐ μόνον οἱ τῶν τυράννων ἐπίβουλοι, Κύψελος, ὃς δὴ πολλὰ Κορίνθῳ πήματα τεύξει, 5.35.2 καὶ Μελάνιππος ὁ πολλὰ ἀγαθὰ τῇ Γελῴων πόλει τεύξας. πῶς δ' εἰ Κύψελος ὄλβιος, ὦ κακόδαιμον, οὐ καὶ Φάλαρις ὄλβιος, ὁμότροπος ὢν Κυψέλῳ; ὥστ' ἂν ἐκείνως ἄμεινον εἶναι ὑμῖν· εὐδαίμων Φάλαρις καὶ Μελάνιππος ἔφυ, θείας ἁγητῆρες ἐν ἀνθρώποις διχονοίας. 5.35.3 ἤκουσα δέ σου καὶ διαλελυμένον χρησμὸν περὶ τοῦ Φαλάριδος, ἐπαινοῦντα καὶ τιμῶντα, ὅτι λαβὼν ἐπιβουλεύοντας ᾐκίσατο μέν, καρτεροῦντας δὲ ἀγάμενος ἀφῆκεν· Λοξίας καὶ Ζεὺς πατὴρ ἀναβολὴν ἐψηφίσαντο θανάτου Φαλάριδι, ἀνθ' ὧν ἡμέρως Χαρίτωνι καὶ Μελανίππῳ προσηνέχθη· ἀλλ' εὖ γε καὶ μόλις ἡμῖν τὰ περὶ τοῦ θανάτου ἔδειξας καὶ τῆς ζωῆς, ὅτι κάλλιστόν τι ἐστὶν ἡ ζωή.» Ἐπὶ τούτοις ἅπασι καὶ τόδε προσκείσθω· 5.36.1 λδʹ.

ΟΤΙ ΚΑΙ ΤΗΝ ΑΨΥΧΟΝ ΥΛΗΝ ΣΕΒΕΙΝ ΠΡΟΣΕΤΑΤΤΟΝ

«Ἀλλά κε Μηθύμνης ναέταις πολὺ λώϊον ἔσται φαλληνὸν τιμῶσι ∆ιωνύσοιο κάρηνον. διὰ τί; θύουσι γὰρ αἱ πόλεις καὶ τελετὰς ἄγουσιν οὐ μόνον «φαλληνοῖς ∆ιωνύσοιο καρήνοις», ἀλλὰ καὶ λιθίνοις καὶ χαλκέοις καὶ χρυσέοις, καὶ οὐ μόνον φαλληνοῖς, ἀλλὰ καὶ αὐτοῖς τοῖς ∆ιονύσοις καὶ ἄλλοις παμπόλλοις Ἡσιοδείοις 5.36.2 θεοῖς. «τρὶς γὰρ» ὡς ἀληθῶς «μύριοί εἰσιν ἐπὶ χθονὶ πουλυβοτείρῃ» οὐκ «ἀθάνατοι», ἀλλὰ λίθινοι καὶ ξύλινοι δεσπόται ἀνθρώπων· οἳ εἰ «ἀνθρώπων ὕβριν τε καὶ εὐνομίην ἐφεώρων», οὐκ ἂν τοσοῦτος ἤρθη ὁ λῆρος, ὥστε ἤδη καὶ μέχρις ὑμῶν κεχωρηκέναι τὸ κακόν, ἐπιδιαβὰν καὶ εἰς τὸν Ὄλυμπον, «ὅθι 5.36.3 φασὶ θεῶν ἕδος ἀσφαλὲς αἰεί». καίτοι εἰ ἀσφαλὲς ἦν, οὐκ ἂν ἦν ἐπιβατὸν λήρῳ οὐδ' ἂν εἷς τις τῶν Ὀλυμπίων εἰς τοῦτο ἦλθεν παρανοίας ὡς ἐλάϊνον κορμὸν θεῶσαι· ὃν οἱ Μηθυμναῖοι σαγήνης ἐμπλακέντα τοῖς λίνοις ἀνείλκυσαν, καὶ δὶς εἰ βούλει καὶ τρὶς καὶ πλεονάκις ἐν τῷ αὐτῷ σαγηνεύοντες ἄνθρω ποι καὶ ἐξ ἐκείνου εἰς τὸ Λιβυκὸν ἐξοκείλαντες οὐδ' εἰς τὴν γῆν ἔξω ἐκβαλόντες 5.36.4 αὐτόν· ἐπεὶ οὐκ ἄν, μὰ τὸν ∆ιόνυσον, ἔτι αὐτοῖς ἐνεπλάκη τοῖς λίνοις. ἀλλ' ἐξ ἄκρου κεφαλοειδὴς ὁ κορμός Ἄπολλον, ξένου κατασκευάσματος!· τί ποτ' οὖν ἔπραττεν ἐν τῷ πελάγει; ἀπορήσαι ἄν τις. τί γὰρ ἄλλο ἢ ἐκάθητο, νὴ τὸν ∆ία, ἀναμένων ἕως ἄνθρωποι μαινόμενοι οὐ γὰρ φήσω ὅτι καὶ θεοί ἐγκυρήσαντες αὐτῷ οὐ διοπετές, ἀλλὰ ποσειδωνοπετὲς ἡγήσωνται κἄπειτα εἰς ἄστυ ἀναγάγωσιν, ὥσπερ τινὰ ἀγαθὴν τύχην, κακὴν οὖσαν ὡς ἀληθῶς οὐ τύχην, ἀλλὰ τυφεδόνα; ἢ οὐκ ἤρκει ἄρα αὐτοῖς οἴκοθεν διολλύουσα, ἀλλ' αὐτὴν ἐπέρρωσέν τε καὶ προσεπέτεινεν θεοπληξίας, ὡς ἄν τις εἴποι, ἐκ ∆ελφῶν μετάπεμπτος ἐπιθήκη.» 5.36.5 Τοσαῦτα καὶ ὁ Οἰνόμαος. ἀλλὰ γὰρ μετὰ τὰ εἰρημένα μεταβὰς αὖθις ἐπὶ τὴν Ἐκ λογίων φιλοσοφίαν τοῦ τὴν συσκευὴν καθ' ἡμῶν πεποιημένου, ἀνάγνωθι ἐκ τῶν περὶ εἱμαρμένης τοῦ Πυθίου χρησμῶν, εἰ μὴ καὶ σοὶ