Εὐνοῦχος
eunuch
Translated by Ioannis Doukas18 Aug 2007Vetting: high8 revisions
Translation
"There was a man (if we could grant him to be a man) enfeebled in spirit by the works of Epicurus, and become effeminate,1 a eunuch2 and a she-male,3 who, as if forgetting, came and thrust himself into the megaron, where of course it was lawful for the hierophant only to enter."4
"Aristonicus was the eunuch of Ptolemy the king of Egypt, but [he was] manly in behaviour".5 For more synonyms see in the [entry]a)/rren .6
"The emperor Theodosius the small,7 in anger against Antiochus the praepositus,8 published a command according to which a eunuch could not become patrician. And the praepositus Antiochus was immediately relieved of his office and his property was confiscated and he was assigned to the priests, having been calumniated into [joining the] clergy."9
"Aristonicus was the eunuch of Ptolemy the king of Egypt, but [he was] manly in behaviour".5 For more synonyms see in the [entry]
"The emperor Theodosius the small,7 in anger against Antiochus the praepositus,8 published a command according to which a eunuch could not become patrician. And the praepositus Antiochus was immediately relieved of his office and his property was confiscated and he was assigned to the priests, having been calumniated into [joining the] clergy."9
Greek original · Adler’s text
Εὐνοῦχος· ἀνήρ τις ἦν [εἰ δοίημεν αὐτὸν ἄνδρα εἶναι] διὰ τῶν Ἐπικούρου λόγων τὴν ψυχὴν ἐκνευρισθεὶς καὶ θῆλυς γενόμενος, ὁ χλούνης τε καὶ γύννις, ὥσπερ ἐπιλαθόμενος ὤθησεν ἑαυτὸν ἐς τὸ μέγαρον φέρων, ἔνθα δήπου τῷ ἱεροφάντῃ μόνῳ παρελθεῖν θεμιτὸν ἦν. ὅτι Ἀριστόνικος ὁ τοῦ Πτολεμαίου τοῦ βασιλέως Αἰγύπτου εὐνοῦχος ἦν, ἀλλ' ἀνδρώδης τὴν προαίρεσιν. ζήτει καὶ ἄλλα φερώνυμα ἐν τῷ ἄρρεν. ὅτι ὁ βασιλεὺς Θεοδόσιος ὁ μικρὸς ὀργῇ τῇ πρὸς Ἀντίοχον τὸν Πραιπόσιτον ἐξεφώνησε διάταξιν, εὐνοῦχον ἐν τοῖς πατρικίοις μὴ τελεῖν. καθῃρέθη δὲ εὐθὺς καὶ ὁ Πραιπόσιτος Ἀντίοχος τῆς τιμῆς καὶ ἐδημοσιεύθη καὶ τοῖς ἱερεῦσι κατετάγη, διαβληθεὶς εἰς καθοσίωσιν.
Betacode
*eu)nou=xos: a)nh/r tis h)=n [ei) doi/hmen au)to\n a)/ndra ei)=nai] dia\ tw=n *)epikou/rou lo/gwn th\n yuxh\n e)kneurisqei\s kai\ qh=lus geno/menos, o( xlou/nhs te kai\ gu/nnis, w(/sper e)pilaqo/menos w)/qhsen e(auto\n e)s to\ me/garon fe/rwn, e)/nqa dh/pou tw=| i(erofa/nth| mo/nw| parelqei=n qemito\n h)=n. o(/ti *)aristo/nikos o( tou= *ptolemai/ou tou= basile/ws *ai)gu/ptou eu)nou=xos h)=n, a)ll' a)ndrw/dhs th\n proai/resin. zh/tei kai\ a)/lla ferw/numa e)n tw=| a)/rren. o(/ti o( basileu\s *qeodo/sios o( mikro\s o)rgh=| th=| pro\s *)anti/oxon to\n *praipo/siton e)cefw/nhse dia/tacin, eu)nou=xon e)n toi=s patriki/ois mh\ telei=n. kaqh|re/qh de\ eu)qu\s kai\ o( *praipo/sitos *)anti/oxos th=s timh=s kai\ e)dhmosieu/qh kai\ toi=s i(ereu=si kateta/gh, diablhqei\s ei)s kaqosi/wsin.
Notes (9)
- This entry is a compilation of three narratives referring to eunuchs; see notes below.
- 1Also at epsilon 512 (q.v.). ↩
- 2chi 349. ↩
- 3gamma 504. ↩
- 4From Aelian fr. 10c Domingo-Forasté (10 Hercher) (De daducho Epicuri praeceptis corrupto); also in the aforementioned entries and delta 6. The passage is quoted also at iota 195 and mu 381. ↩
- 5From Polybius 22.22; also at alpha 3925 (q.v.). ↩
- 6alpha 3822. ↩
- 7i.e. Theodosius II (408-450) theta 145; De Imperatoribus Romanis entry (Geoffrey Nathan) at web address 1. ↩
- 8alpha 2694 (q.v.); also notes 11 and 12 in theta 145. ↩
- 9From Joannes Malalas 361-2; also in pi 793 and upsilon 169. ↩
External resources
- Web address 1 roman-emperors.sites.luc.edu
Linked from8 entries
- α2694Ἀντίοχος ὁ ΠραιπόσιτοςAntiochus PraepositusThis man was calumniated to Theodosius the Small and relieved of his office and when this was publicly revealed he was appointed among the priests, as a decree had been issued by the emperor not to enroll a eunuch among…
- α3925ἈριστόνικοςAristonikos, AristonicusHe was the eunuch of king Ptolemy [V Epiphanes] of Egypt, but had been brought up with the king from childhood. As his age advanced, he had the courage and character of a man rather than [that] of a eunuch. For he was…
- γ504Γύννιςshe-male[Meaning] man-woman, softy. "Where is the she-male from? What country?" "[He] sharing in evil wisdom and the atheistic words of Epicurus and cultivating she-males just for the pleasure of it, which that man praises,…
- δ1561Δοίημενwe might give[Meaning] we might provide.
- ε512Ἐκνευρίσαςhaving enfeebledMeaning [he] having rendered [them] helpless/useless. "He responded after cutting them all down, in order that he might enfeeble much of Rome's strength". And elsewhere: "[there was a man] (if we could grant him to be a…
- ι195Ἱεροφάντηςhierophant[Meaning] a mystagogue, a priest. "And burning to show that god does not care about the Athenians, he went to the megaron and thrust himself in; there of course only the hierophant was permitted to go, according to the…
- μ381Μέγαραchambers[Meaning] the dwelling-places. [sc. also attested in the singular] megaron, [meaning] upper part [of the house], dwelling-place. "And as though the god does not take an interest in human affairs, he thrusts himself into…
- χ349Χλοῦναιgreenwood-men[Meaning] robbers, who lie in ambush in the greenwood [xloh=|]. Also [sc. attested in the singular] "greenwood", [meaning] solitary, violent, wicked, difficult. And the eunuch. "A castrated and androgynous man (if we…
Neighbouring entries
Revision history8 revisions · last 17 Feb 2018
- tweaked translation — Catharine Roth
- tweaked translation — Catharine Roth
- cosmetics — David Whitehead
- expanded note — Catharine Roth
- tweaking — David Whitehead
- updated reference in note 4 — Catharine Roth
- more keywords; tweaks and cosmetics — David Whitehead
- added cross-references — Catharine Roth
- Translated — Ioannis Doukas