Δαφίδας
Daphidas
Translated by Malcolm Heath23 Jun 2000Vetting: high4 revisions
Translation
Of Telmessos.1 Grammarian. He wrote about Homer and his poetry, [claiming] that he did not tell the truth: for the Athenians did not fight at Troy.
This man was indiscriminately abusive, and did not spare even the gods. Attalus the king of Pergamum plotted against him for this reason. [Daphidas] once went to the Pythia2 and mocked the oracle; with a laugh he asked whether he would find his horse. The answer was that he would find it quickly. Then he made it widely known that he did not even have a horse -- and had not lost one. As he was returning Attalus captured him and ordered that he be thrown down a cliff. The place where this happened was called Horse; and he realised before his death that the oracle did not lie. So having behaved outrageously he came to a bad end.3
This man was indiscriminately abusive, and did not spare even the gods. Attalus the king of Pergamum plotted against him for this reason. [Daphidas] once went to the Pythia2 and mocked the oracle; with a laugh he asked whether he would find his horse. The answer was that he would find it quickly. Then he made it widely known that he did not even have a horse -- and had not lost one. As he was returning Attalus captured him and ordered that he be thrown down a cliff. The place where this happened was called Horse; and he realised before his death that the oracle did not lie. So having behaved outrageously he came to a bad end.3