Νίκων

Nikon

Translated by David Whitehead3 Oct 2001Vetting: high4 revisions

2 notes · 152 words
This man, it is said, won 1400 victory-crowns at Olympia and Nemea and the Isthmus and other festivals, in boxing and wrestling and pankration and running, etc. After he had departed this mortal life, one of those who had been his enemies while he was alive used to approach his statue and flog it; but the statue put an end to the outrager by falling on him. The sons of the deceased then pursued the statue with a homicide suit, and the Thasians threw it into the sea - adopting the law of Drakon the Athenian, in making rules even for inanimate murderers.1 But the Pythia decreed that the statue had been badly treated and should be retrieved.2 The fishermen could not [at first] see how to bring it up, but they loosened their nets for fish and brought up the statue. The Thasians then erected it where it had originally been.

Greek original · Adler’s text

Νίκων· οὗτος πὺξ καὶ πάλην καὶ παγκράτιον καὶ δρόμον καὶ τἄλλα ἐν Ὀλυμπίᾳ καὶ Νεμέᾳ καὶ Ἰσθμοῖ καὶ ἄλλοις ἀγῶσι νικήσας ἔλαβε στεφάνους, ὥς φασι, χιλίους καὶ υʹ. ἀπελθόντος δὲ αὐτοῦ ἐξ ἀνθρώπων, τῶν ἀπεχθανομένων τις ὡς ζῶντι αὐτῷ παρεγένετο ἐπὶ τὴν εἰκόνα αὐτοῦ καὶ ἐμαστίγου αὐτήν· ἐς ὃ πεσοῦσα ἐκείνη ἠμύνατο τὸν ὑβριστήν. τοῦ δὲ οἱ παῖδες ἐπεξῄεσαν φόνου ἐπὶ τῇ εἰκόνι, καὶ οἱ Θάσιοι καταποντοῦσιν αὐτὴν κατὰ νόμον Δράκοντος Ἀθηναίου, ὑπερορίζοντος φονεύοντα καὶ τὰ ἄψυχα. ταύτην δὲ ἡ Πυθία ἔχρησε κακῶς Θασίοις πράττουσιν ἀνενεγκεῖν. ἀπορούντων δὲ τῶν ἁλιέων περὶ τῆς ἀναγωγῆς, τὰ δίκτυα χαλάσαντες ἐπὶ ἰχθῦς ἀνήνεγκον τὴν εἰκόνα. καὶ ἔστησαν αὐτὴν οἱ Θάσιοι ὅθι καὶ πρῶτον ἦν.

Betacode
*ni/kwn: ou(=tos pu\c kai\ pa/lhn kai\ pagkra/tion kai\ dro/mon kai\ ta)/lla e)n *)olumpi/a| kai\ *neme/a| kai\ *)isqmoi= kai\ a)/llois a)gw=si nikh/sas e)/labe stefa/nous, w(/s fasi, xili/ous kai\ u#. a)pelqo/ntos de\ au)tou= e)c a)nqrw/pwn, tw=n a)pexqanome/nwn tis w(s zw=nti au)tw=| parege/neto e)pi\ th\n ei)ko/na au)tou= kai\ e)masti/gou au)th/n: e)s o(\ pesou=sa e)kei/nh h)mu/nato  to\n u(bristh/n. tou= de\ oi( pai=des e)pech/|esan fo/nou e)pi\ th=| ei)ko/ni, kai\ oi( *qa/sioi katapontou=sin au)th\n kata\ no/mon *dra/kontos *)aqhnai/ou, u(perori/zontos foneu/onta kai\ ta\ a)/yuxa. tau/thn de\ h( *puqi/a e)/xrhse kakw=s *qasi/ois pra/ttousin a)nenegkei=n. a)porou/ntwn de\ tw=n a(lie/wn peri\ th=s a)nagwgh=s, ta\ di/ktua xala/santes e)pi\ i)xqu=s a)nh/negkon th\n ei)ko/na. kai\ e)/sthsan au)th\n oi( *qa/sioi o(/qi kai\ prw=ton h)=n.

Notes (2)

  1. Summarized from Pausanias 6.11.4-8 (web address 1). Despite the headword here, the athlete in question is Theagenes of Thasos, for whom cf. theta 133 (and Paus. 6.6.5-6).
  2. 1Such cases in Athens (including those against animals and against unknown human killers) were tried in the so-called Prytaneion court. See e.g. Demosthenes 23.76, and generally D.M. MacDowell, Athenian Homicide Law (Manchester 1963) chap.9. On Drakon, see delta 1495. ↩
  3. 2See J. Fontenrose, The Delphic Oracle (Berkeley & Los Angeles 1978) 324 (nos.170-1 of the 'Quasi-Historical Responses'). ↩

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Neighbouring entries

ν408Νικῷενthey might be victoriousν409ΝικῶI conquer, I defeatν410ΝίκωνNikonν411ΝικωνίαNikonia, Niconiaν412ΝικυρίςNikuris, Nikyris
Revision history4 revisions · last 10 Jun 2013
  1. Revised — David Whitehead
  2. more keywords; cosmetics — David Whitehead
  3. added cross-reference — Catharine Roth
  4. cosmetics, link, status — Catharine Roth
  5. Translated — David Whitehead

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