Χάριτας
favors; Graces
Translated by Jennifer Benedict15 Mar 2008Vetting: high10 revisions
Translation
[Meaning] privileges, kindnesses. "He sent Theodorus to promise favors, in return for the fact that he had honored the greatest emissary of the Romans to the utmost."1
Also [sc. attested is] a proverb: 'the Graces [are] naked'; because it is necessary to give favors [xari/zesqai ] simply and openly;2 or because the Graces are deprived of their own adornment.3
There are three Graces: Peitho, Aglaia and Euphrone.4
Also [sc. attested is] a proverb: 'the Graces [are] naked'; because it is necessary to give favors [
There are three Graces: Peitho, Aglaia and Euphrone.4
Greek original · Adler’s text
Χάριτας· τιμάς, εὐεργεσίας. ὁ δὲ στέλλει Θεόδωρον, ὁμολογήσοντα χάριτας, ἀνθ' ὧν τὸν μέγιστον Ῥωμαίων πρεσβευτὴν ἐτίμησεν ἐς τὰ μάλιστα. καὶ παροιμία· Αἱ Χάριτες γυμναί· ἤτοι ὅτι δεῖ ἀφελῶς καὶ ἀφανέρως χαρίζεσθαι· ἢ ὅτι αἱ Χάριτες τὸν ἑαυτῶν κόσμον ἀφῄρηνται. τρεῖς δὲ αἱ Χάριτες, Πειθώ, Ἀγλαΐα καὶ Εὐφρόνη.
Betacode
*xa/ritas: tima/s, eu)ergesi/as. o( de\ ste/llei *qeo/dwron, o(mologh/sonta xa/ritas, a)nq' w(=n to\n me/giston *(rwmai/wn presbeuth\n e)ti/mhsen e)s ta\ ma/lista. kai\ paroimi/a: *ai( *xa/rites gumnai/: h)/toi o(/ti dei= a)felw=s kai\ a)fane/rws xari/zesqai: h)\ o(/ti ai( *xa/rites to\n e(autw=n ko/smon a)fh/|rhntai. trei=s de\ ai( *xa/rites, *peiqw/, *)aglai/+a kai\ *eu)fro/nh.
Notes (4)
- The headword is accusative plural, presumably extracted from the first quotation given.
- 1An approximation of part of Menander Protector fr. 18.6 Blockley (164-165), via the Excerpta de legationibus of Constantine Porphyrogenitus 158. In early 575 Tiberius Caesar (cf. tau 553 and PLRE IIIb s.v. Tiberius Constantinus(1)) sent Theodorus as envoy to Chosroes (cf. chi 418 generally) to thank the Persian king for the kind reception given to Trajan in a prior embassy. On Theodorus see PLRE IIIb s.v. Theodorus(33). On Trajan see PLRE IIIb s.v. Traianus(3). Find further extracts from this fragment at alpha 2330, alpha 2906, epsilon 1676, epsiloniota 267, and sigma 10. ↩
- 2cf. Zenobius 1.36; see also alphaiota 386 where the Suda mss read
fanerw=s ("openly") -- as translated here -- rather than thea)fane/rws ("in secret") which Adler prints. ↩ - 3Again there is a variant reading in the quotation of this passage in alphaiota 386, which reads
a)xa/ristoi ("those who lack the gifts of the graces") for this entry's*xa/rites ("the Graces"); cf. Zenobius 1.36. See also chi 124. ↩ - 4The earliest source we have for these names of the Graces is Hesiod, Theogony 907. (See web address 1 below.) Homer mentions the Graces several times, but only once gives a name: "Pasithea" (if Iliad 14.269 is genuine). ↩
References
R.C. Blockley, ed. and trans., The History of Menander the Guardsman, (Cambridge 1985)
J.R. Martindale, The Prosopography of the Later Roman Empire, vol. IIIb, (Cambridge, 1992)
J.R. Martindale, The Prosopography of the Later Roman Empire, vol. IIIb, (Cambridge, 1992)
External resources
- Web address 1 perseus.tufts.edu
Linked from7 entries
- α2330Ἀνέστησανthey forced [someone] to emigrate[Meaning] they transplanted. "Caesar is both irritated and upset, because they did not force both [the] Sabeirites and [the] Albanians to emigrate all at once".
- αι66Αἴγλης ΧάριτεςAigle's GracesThey [i.e. genealogists] plausibly traced the lineage of the Graces; for Helios is also Aigle's, since he seems [to make] the Graces be bright.
- αι386Αἱ Χάριτες γυμναίthe Graces (are) naked[sc. This proverbial phrase is used] because it is necessary to give favors simply and openly; or because those who lack the gifts of the Graces are deprived of their own adornment.
- ε1676Ἐξ ἐφόδουfrom [the first] approach[Meaning] immediately, without trouble. "As [he] recognized that he was not able to take the city of Theodosios at the first attack, he withdrew."
- ει267Εἰσήρρησενwent into[Meaning he/she/it] made an entry with bad results. Aristophanes [writes]: "for ever since he went into the house for disaster." Meaning went in, rushed in, on the basis that [Kleon] had proceeded with force and…
- χ114Χάρινgrace[Meaning] enjoyment.
- χ124ΧάριταςGraces, favorsThey describe [the] Graces as naked, because favors should be given freely.
Neighbouring entries
Revision history10 revisions · last 2 Dec 2024
- added cross-references n.1 — Ronald Allen
- expanded n.1, added bibliography and cross-references — Ronald Allen
- cross-reference — Catharine Roth
- cosmeticule — Catharine Roth
- tweaked link — Catharine Roth
- Revised — David Whitehead
- updated n.1 — David Whitehead
- augmented notes and keywords; cosmetics — David Whitehead
- cosmeticule — Jennifer Benedict
- modified translation, augmented notes, added keyword, raised status — William Hutton
- Translated — Jennifer Benedict