Προτομή
protome, figurehead
Translated by William Hutton11 Oct 2013Vetting: high4 revisions
Translation
In the case of un-reasoning animals this is the term used,1 as is 'portrait' in the case of a human.2
And in the case of a mechanical ram the front part is called a protome. The manufacturing of the ram is something like this:3 "a very large beam, similar to the mast of a ship, is sheathed at its tip with thick iron shaped into the protome of a ram, from which it gets its name. It is suspended in the middle by ropes on either side of the beam as from a balance, supported with stationary cross-pieces on either side, pushed back by a mass of men toward the rear, with these same men in turn putting their weight into it all together toward the front, it strikes the walls with the projecting iron. And there is no tower so stout, nor circuit-wall so wide, that would be strong enough to withstand even the the first blows; for as long as persistence reigns, it topples the walls."4
And in the case of a mechanical ram the front part is called a protome. The manufacturing of the ram is something like this:3 "a very large beam, similar to the mast of a ship, is sheathed at its tip with thick iron shaped into the protome of a ram, from which it gets its name. It is suspended in the middle by ropes on either side of the beam as from a balance, supported with stationary cross-pieces on either side, pushed back by a mass of men toward the rear, with these same men in turn putting their weight into it all together toward the front, it strikes the walls with the projecting iron. And there is no tower so stout, nor circuit-wall so wide, that would be strong enough to withstand even the the first blows; for as long as persistence reigns, it topples the walls."4
Greek original · Adler’s text
Προτομή· ἐπὶ ζῴων ἀλόγων οὕτω λέγεται, ὡς ἐπὶ ἀνθρώπου πρόσωπον. καὶ ἐπὶ κριοῦ μηχανικοῦ προτομὴ λέγεται τὸ πρόσθεν μέρος. ἔστι δὲ τοῦ κριοῦ ἡ κατασκευὴ τοιάδε. δοκὸς ὑπερμεγέθης, ἱστῷ νηὸς παραπλησία, ἐστόμωται δὲ παχεῖ σιδήρῳ κατ' ἄκρον ἐς κριοῦ προτομήν, ἀφ' οὗ καὶ καλεῖται, τετυπωμένος. καταιωρεῖται δὲ κάλοις μέσος ὥσπερ ἀπὸ πλάστιγγος ἑκατέρας δοκοῦ, σταυροῖς ἑκατέρωθεν ἑδραίοις ὑπεστηριγμένος, ἀνωθούμενος ὑπὸ πλήθους ἀνδρῶν ἐς τὸ κατόπιν, τῶν αὐτῶν πάλιν ἀθρόως ἐς τοὔμπροσθεν ἐπιβρισάντων, τύπτει τὰ τείχη τῷ προσανέχοντι σιδήρῳ· καὶ οὐδεὶς οὕτω καρτερὸς πύργος ἢ περίβολος πλατύς, ὃς κἂν τὰς πρώτας πληγὰς ἐνεγκεῖν κατισχύσειε· τῆς γὰρ ἐπιμονῆς κρατούσης, καθαιρεῖ τὰ τείχη.
Betacode
*protomh/: e)pi\ zw/|wn a)lo/gwn ou(/tw le/getai, w(s e)pi\ a)nqrw/pou pro/swpon. kai\ e)pi\ kriou= mhxanikou= protomh\ le/getai to\ pro/sqen me/ros. e)/sti de\ tou= kriou= h( kataskeuh\ toia/de. doko\s u(permege/qhs, i(stw=| nho\s paraplhsi/a, e)sto/mwtai de\ paxei= sidh/rw| kat' a)/kron e)s kriou= protomh/n, a)f' ou(= kai\ kalei=tai, tetupwme/nos. kataiwrei=tai de\ ka/lois me/sos w(/sper a)po\ pla/stiggos e(kate/ras dokou=, stauroi=s e(kate/rwqen e(drai/ois u(pesthrigme/nos, a)nwqou/menos u(po\ plh/qous a)ndrw=n e)s to\ kato/pin, tw=n au)tw=n pa/lin a)qro/ws e)s tou)/mprosqen e)pibrisa/ntwn, tu/ptei ta\ tei/xh tw=| prosane/xonti sidh/rw|: kai\ ou)dei\s ou(/tw kartero\s pu/rgos h)\ peri/bolos platu/s, o(\s ka)\n ta\s prw/tas plhga\s e)negkei=n katisxu/seie: th=s ga\r e)pimonh=s kratou/shs, kaqairei= ta\ tei/xh.
Notes (4)
- The headword is a feminine noun in the nominative singular. The same noun figures in the headword phrase of the previous entry, pi 2890, where more basic glossing is on offer.
- 1The same statement is made in pi 2890. ↩
- 2We find the same distinction being made in Pollux 2.47.2, and observed implicitly in kappa 2627. ↩
- 3cf. for this phrase the interpolated caption (to an illustration) in Athenaeus Mechanicus, On Machines 11.3 (with Whitehead & Blyth 32); and see also kappa 2434, epsilon 1066, kappa 2432, and alpha 3340. ↩
- 4A close approximation of Josephus, Jewish War 3.214-217 (via the Excerpta of Constantine Porphyrogenitus, in Adler's estimation); already quoted at kappa 2434. ↩
References
David Whitehead & P.H. Blyth, Athenaeus Mechanicus, On Machines: translated with introduction and commentary (Stuttgart 2004)
Linked from2 entries
- κ2434Κριόςram, battering ram[Meaning] the siege machine [of that name]. It is so called because it collides forcefully and goes back again and does this continually as if it is fighting. There is a big horn resembling a that of a ram and the…
- π2890Προτομαὶ βασιλικαίroyal protomes, royal busts, royal imagines[Meaning] royal images. Also [sc. attested are] protomes of lions, and likewise in the case of others. But properly 'protome' is used in the case of non-reasoning animals. "Having molded protomes of quadrupeds on the…
Neighbouring entries
Revision history4 revisions · last 25 May 2016
- coding — David Whitehead
- Revised — David Whitehead
- augmented notes; tweaks and cosmstics — David Whitehead
- set status — Catharine Roth
- Translated — William Hutton