Ταῦτά σοι καὶ Πύθια καὶ Δήλια
for you this [is] both Pythia and Delia
Translated by D. Graham J. Shipley11 Jul 2003Vetting: high3 revisions
Translation
[sc. A proverb] in reference to those taking their final actions.1 For when Polykrates, the tyrant of Samos, had captured Rheneia and dedicated it to Apollo, he set up a most beautiful festival in Delos.2 Then he sent to Delphi and asked what he must call the festival, Delia or Pythia. But the oracle said: "for you [this is] both Pythia and Delia"; meaning that he would die immediately.3
Greek original · Adler’s text
Ταῦτά σοι καὶ Πύθια καὶ Δήλια· ἐπὶ τῶν τὰ τελευταῖα ποιούντων. Πολυκράτης γὰρ ὁ Σάμου τύραννος Ῥήνιαν ἑλὼν καὶ ἀναθεὶς αὐτὴν τῷ Ἀπόλλωνι καὶ ἐν Δήλῳ θεὶς ἀγῶνα κάλλιστον ἠρώτα πέμψας εἰς Δελφούς, πῶς δεῖ καλεῖν τὸν ἀγῶνα, Δήλια ἢ Πύθια. ὁ δὲ χρησμὸς εἶπε· ταῦτά σοι καὶ Πύθια καὶ Δήλια· σημαίνων, ὅτι εὐθέως ἀποθανεῖται.
Betacode
*tau=ta/ soi kai\ *pu/qia kai\ *dh/lia: e)pi\ tw=n ta\ teleutai=a poiou/ntwn. *polukra/ths ga\r o( *sa/mou tu/rannos *(rh/nian e(lw\n kai\ a)naqei\s au)th\n tw=| *)apo/llwni kai\ e)n *dh/lw| qei\s a)gw=na ka/lliston h)rw/ta pe/myas ei)s *delfou/s, pw=s dei= kalei=n to\n a)gw=na, *dh/lia h)\ *pu/qia. o( de\ xrhsmo\s ei)=pe: tau=ta/ soi kai\ *pu/qia kai\ *dh/lia: shmai/nwn, o(/ti eu)qe/ws a)poqanei=tai.
Notes (3)
- 1The proverb, which is in the iambic metre (with
kai\ *dh/lia beginning a new line) is attributed to the comic poet Menander (fr. 147 Kock = 134 Koerte-Thierfelder = 84 Kassel-Austin). In the paroemiographers: Zenobius 6.15; Apostolius 15.9; Arsenius 16.17a. ↩ - 2(Delos lies between the larger islands of Rheneia [rho 134] and Mykonos.) For this episode cf. Thucydides 1.13.6 and 3.104.2. ↩
- 3cf. pi 3128, and see generally J. Fontenrose, The Delphic Oracle: its responses and operations (Berkeley 1978) 307 Q116. ↩
Linked from2 entries
- π3120ΠυθαγόραςPythagoras[Pythagoras] of Samos, but Tyrrhenian [Etruscan] by descent; son of Mnesarchus an engraver of gems. When he was young he migrated with his father from Tyrrhenian territory to Samos. This man was taught first by…
- π3128Πύθια καὶ ΔήλιαPythia and DeliaThey say that Polycrates, the tyrant of Samos, having created the Pythia and the Delia [festivals] in Delos at the same time, sent an embassy to the oracle of the god [Apollo] to ask whether he was performing the…
Neighbouring entries
τ173Ταῦτα πράσσων φάσκ' ἀνὴρ οὐδὲν ποιῶνthese things [I am] doing -- claimed a man doing nothingτ174Ταῦτα πρὸς ἀνδρός ἐστιthis is [characteristic] of a manτ175Ταῦτά σοι καὶ Πύθια καὶ Δήλιαfor you this [is] both Pythia and Deliaτ176Ταῦτά τοι καὶ θαρρῶν αὐτὸς κατά τι ἔθος ἀρχαῖον ἐκέλευσε δι' ἡμέρας τὴν ἱερουργίαν τὴν τεταγμένην δρᾶσαι τῷ θεῷthus taking heart he himself bade them throughout the day to perform the prescribed rites to the god according to ancient customτ177Ταύτῃon this account
Revision history3 revisions · last 31 Dec 2014
- updated a ref — David Whitehead
- tweaks and cosmetics — David Whitehead
- augmented notes and keywords; cosmetics — David Whitehead
- Translated — D. Graham J. Shipley