Κόμοδος
Commodus
Translated by Abram Ring25 Nov 2003Vetting: high7 revisions
Translation
[Commodus,] emperor of [the] Romans; [it was he] who, driven by some fortune, advanced to such a point of madness and insanity as to reject his own name and to call himself Heracles and the son of Zeus.1 He bid that the months take their names from himself in this manner: Amazonius, Commodus, Augustus, Heracleus, Romaeus, Hyperairon, Aniketos, Eusebes, Eutyches, Lucius, Aelius, Aurelius.2 Shedding the clothing of the Romans, he put on a lion skin and took up a club. In this manner, he fought one-on-one with beasts and men in public — displaying, in truth, fine skill with the javelin and amazing everyone. But when he turned to much murderousness, he mercilessly gathered into the theatre all the wretched and mutilated men and fitted their knees with some wondrous serpent-like things and killed them with his club as the giants.3 And, sleeping among the gladiatorial contests4 and from there going to meet at the assemblies before the gathered senate, he was harshly criticized so that even Marcia, his most honored concubine, charged him and renounced what he had done. And many others too begged him to do nothing unworthy of an emperor.
Greek original · Adler’s text
Κόμοδος, βασιλεὺς Ῥωμαίων· ὃς ὑπό τινος τύχης ἐλαυνόμενος ἐς τοσοῦτον μανίας καὶ παροινίας προὐχώρησεν, ὡς τὴν ἰδίαν προσηγορίαν παραιτήσασθαι, Ἡρακλέα δὲ καὶ Διὸς υἱὸν ὀνομάζεσθαι· τούς τε μῆνας ἀφ' ἑαυτοῦ φέρειν τὰς προσηγορίας προσέταξεν οὕτως· Ἀμαζόνιος, Κόμοδος, Αὔγουστος, Ἡράκλειος, Ῥωμαῖος, Ὑπεραίρων, Ἀνίκητος, Εὐσεβής, Εὐτυχής, Λούκιος, Αἴλιος, Αὐρήλιος. ἀποδυσάμενός τε τὸ Ῥωμαίων σχῆμα λεοντῆν ὑπεστρώννυτο καὶ ῥόπαλον ἐπεφέρετο· οὕτω τε θηρίοις καὶ ἀνθρώποις δημοσίᾳ ἐμονομάχει, εὐστόχως κατὰ τὸ ἀληθὲς ἀκοντίζων καὶ παρὰ πάντων θαυμαζόμενος. ἐπειδὰν δὲ εἰς πολλὴν μιαιφονίαν ἐτράπη, πάντας ἀφειδῶς τοὺς ἀθλίους καὶ λελωβημένους ἄνδρας ἐς τὸ θέατρον συναγαγὼν δρακοντοειδῆ τέ τινα περιθεὶς ἐκ γονάτων φάσματα, ὡς γίγαντας τῷ ῥοπάλῳ κατειργάσατο. καθεύδων δὲ ἐν τοῖς μονομαχείοις, ἐκεῖθεν ἐς τὰς πανηγύρεις πρὸς τῆς συγκλήτου βουλῆς ὑπαντώμενος ἐκ πάντων μὲν κακῶς διεβάλλετο, ὥστε καὶ τὴν Μαρκίαν, ἣν εἶχε παλλακῶν τιμιωτάτην, καταγνῶναι αὐτοῦ καὶ ἀπαγορεῦσαι τὰ πραττόμενα. πολλοὶ δὲ καὶ ἄλλοι ἱκέτευον αὐτὸν μηδὲν ἀνάξιον τῆς βασιλείας ποιεῖν.
Betacode
*ko/modos, basileu\s *(rwmai/wn: o(\s u(po/ tinos tu/xhs e)launo/menos e)s tosou=ton mani/as kai\ paroini/as prou)xw/rhsen, w(s th\n i)di/an proshgori/an paraith/sasqai, *(hrakle/a de\ kai\ *dio\s ui(o\n o)noma/zesqai: tou/s te mh=nas a)f' e(autou= fe/rein ta\s proshgori/as prose/tacen ou(/tws: *)amazo/nios, *ko/modos, *au)/goustos, *(hra/kleios, *(rwmai=os, *(uperai/rwn, *)ani/khtos, *eu)sebh/s, *eu)tuxh/s, *lou/kios, *ai)/lios, *au)rh/lios. a)podusa/meno/s te to\ *(rwmai/wn sxh=ma leonth=n u(pestrw/nnuto kai\ r(o/palon e)pefe/reto: ou(/tw te qhri/ois kai\ a)nqrw/pois dhmosi/a| e)monoma/xei, eu)sto/xws kata\ to\ a)lhqe\s a)konti/zwn kai\ para\ pa/ntwn qaumazo/menos. e)peida\n de\ ei)s pollh\n miaifoni/an e)tra/ph, pa/ntas a)feidw=s tou\s a)qli/ous kai\ lelwbhme/nous a)/ndras e)s to\ qe/atron sunagagw\n drakontoeidh= te/ tina periqei\s e)k gona/twn fa/smata, w(s gi/gantas tw=| r(opa/lw| kateirga/sato. kaqeu/dwn de\ e)n toi=s monomaxei/ois, e)kei=qen e)s ta\s panhgu/reis pro\s th=s sugklh/tou boulh=s u(pantw/menos e)k pa/ntwn me\n kakw=s dieba/lleto, w(/ste kai\ th\n *marki/an, h(\n ei)=xe pallakw=n timiwta/thn, katagnw=nai au)tou= kai\ a)pagoreu=sai ta\ pratto/mena. polloi\ de\ kai\ a)/lloi i(ke/teuon au)to\n mhde\n a)na/cion th=s basilei/as poiei=n.
Notes
- L. Aurelius Antoninus Commodus was the son of the last of the so-called five "good" emperors, Marcus Aurelius (mu 214), and reigned from 180 to 192. See generally A.R. Birley in OCD(4) s.v., and web address 1.
External resources
- Web address 1 roman-emperors.sites.luc.edu
Linked from10 entries
- α528ἈδριανόςHadrian, Adrianos, Adrian, Hadrianos, Hadrianus, AdrianusSophist. A pupil of Herodes; floruit under Marcus Antoninus; as a teacher he was a rival to the rhetor Aristides in Athens. He was also sophist in Rome, and was secretary with responsibility for correspondence under…
- α1507Ἀμάστηςamastes"They persuade a man both noble and amastes to go in and strangle Com[m]odus. His name was Narcissus."
- γ32ΓαληνόςGalenos, Galenus, GalenThe exceptionally distinguished doctor; of Pergamum. Lived under the emperors Marcus, Commodus and Pertinax in Rome. Son of Nicon, a geometer and architect. He composed many works on medicine and philosophy, and also on…
- ε916Ἐλοιδόρησεvituperated[Meaning he/she/it] slandered, denounced. Aelian [writes]: "Cleander vituperated the consul of the empire in Egypt in front of Commodus and put an end to his rule though he had done nothing wrong."
- ι438ἸουλιανόςIoulianos, Iulianus, Julianus[Julianus,] the consul, who bought the imperial power. When he came into office, he immediately began to spend his leisure in luxury and drunkenness, applying himself lazily to the care of public affairs, and devoting…
- ι448ἸουστῖνοςIoustinos, Justinus, JustinPhilosopher, who wore the garb of the philosophers, from the eparchy of Neapolis [Nablus] in Palestine. His father was Priscus, son of Bacchius. This man strove diligently for the religion of the Christians; so much so…
- κ1199ΚαῖσαρCaesarThe emperors of the Romans receive this name from Julius Caesar, the one who was not born [sc. in the conventional way]. For when his mother [Aurelia] died in the ninth month, they cut her open, took him out, and named…
- κ2666Κύλιξ ῥοπαλωτήclub-shaped cup, kylix rhopalote[Meaning] the refreshment vessel for the many. "Commodus, the Romans' emperor, when he had tired himself out in the performance, took from a woman some sweet chilled wine in a cup shaped like a club and drank it in one…
- μ173ΜάξιμοςMaximus, Maximos[Maximus] of Tyre, philosopher; he lived in Rome during the reign of Commodus. [He wrote] Concerning Homer and what is the ancient philosophy in him; Whether Socrates did not give a fine defence of himself; and certain…
- μ206ΜάρκελλοςMarcellusA general in the time of Commodus; he abstained from bribes as much as he engaged in kindness and clemency. For in order that it would seem he was awake all night long and, accordingly, so that no one of the others who…
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Revision history7 revisions · last 25 Oct 2019
- tweaked translation — Catharine Roth
- coding — David Whitehead
- updated a ref — David Whitehead
- Revised — David Whitehead
- more keywords; tweaking — David Whitehead
- cosmetics, keyword — Catharine Roth
- augmented primary note, and keywords — David Whitehead
- Translated — Abram Ring