Τὰ ἐκ τρίποδος

things from the tripod

Translated by Rachael Birch30 Jan 2014Vetting: high6 revisions

3 notes · 186 words
Apollo uses a tripod when prophesying because of the three time-periods of actions. Homer [writes]: "he knew the things that are and the things that would be and the things that were before."1 They say that Apollo acquired his tripod thus:2 some fisherman were casting their net for wages, so that what was brought up would belong to the one who bought the cast. So some people bought [the cast], and then a golden tripod was brought up. Then they became contentious about this, and the fishermen said "it was fish that we sold." But the ones who bought [the cast] said, "we bought everything that comes up by our own luck." So since they were becoming contentious with each other in this way, they decided to ask Apollo. And he pronounced that it should be given to the wise one. So they brought it to the seven wise men.3 But each one of them refused it, saying that he was not wise, but that one wiser than he should have it. So they decided to dedicate it to Apollo since he was wiser than all.

Greek original · Adler’s text

Τὰ ἐκ τρίποδος· τρίποδι χρῆται ὁ Ἀπόλλων μαντευόμενος διὰ τοὺς τρεῖς καιροὺς τῶν πραγμάτων. Ὅμηρος· ὃς ᾔδη τά τ' ἐόντα τά τ' ἐσόμενα πρό τ' ἐόντα. φασὶ δὲ οὕτω κτήσασθαι τὸν Ἀπόλλωνα τὸν τρίποδα· ἁλιεῖς μισθῷ βόλον ἐρρίπτουν, ἵνα τὸ ἀναφερόμενον ᾖ τοῦ ἀγοράσαντος τὸν βόλον. ἠγόρασαν οὖν τινες, εἶτα ἀνηνέχθη τρίπους χρυσοῦς. ἐφιλονείκουν οὖν περὶ αὐτοῦ, καὶ ἔλεγον οἱ ἁλιεῖς, ὡς ἰχθῦς πεπράκαμεν. οἱ δὲ ἀγοράσαντες ἔλεγον, ὡς πᾶν τὸ ἀνιὸν ἠγοράσαμεν τῇ ἑαυτῶν τύχῃ. οὕτως οὖν αὐτῶν φιλονεικούντων, ἔδοξεν ἐρωτῆσαι τὸν Ἀπόλλωνα. ὁ δὲ ἔχρησε δοθῆναι αὐτὸν τῷ σοφῷ. προσήγαγον οὖν αὐτὸν τοῖς ἑπτὰ σοφοῖς. ἕκαστος δὲ τούτων παρῃτεῖτο, σοφὸς εἶναι μὴ λέγων, ἔχειν δὲ σοφώτερον ἑαυτοῦ. ἔδοξεν οὖν ἀναθεῖναι αὐτὸν τῷ Ἀπόλλωνι ὡς σοφωτέρῳ πάντων.

Betacode
*ta\ e)k tri/podos: tri/podi xrh=tai o( *)apo/llwn manteuo/menos dia\ tou\s trei=s kairou\s tw=n pragma/twn. *(/omhros: o(\s h)/|dh ta/ t' e)o/nta ta/ t' e)so/mena pro/ t' e)o/nta. fasi\ de\ ou(/tw kth/sasqai to\n *)apo/llwna to\n tri/poda: a(liei=s misqw=| bo/lon e)rri/ptoun, i(/na to\ a)nafero/menon h)=| tou= a)gora/santos to\n bo/lon. h)go/rasan ou)=n tines, ei)=ta a)nhne/xqh tri/pous xrusou=s. e)filonei/koun ou)=n peri\ au)tou=, kai\ e)/legon oi( a(liei=s, w(s i)xqu=s pepra/kamen. oi( de\ a)gora/santes e)/legon, w(s pa=n to\ a)nio\n h)gora/samen th=| e(autw=n tu/xh|. ou(/tws ou)=n au)tw=n filoneikou/ntwn, e)/docen e)rwth=sai to\n *)apo/llwna. o( de\ e)/xrhse doqh=nai au)to\n tw=| sofw=|. prosh/gagon ou)=n au)to\n toi=s e(pta\ sofoi=s. e(/kastos de\ tou/twn parh|tei=to, sofo\s ei)=nai mh\ le/gwn, e)/xein de\ sofw/teron e(autou=. e)/docen ou)=n a)naqei=nai au)to\n tw=| *)apo/llwni w(s sofwte/rw| pa/ntwn.

Notes (3)

  1. The headword phrase, referring to the tripod on which the Pythian priestess at Delphi sat while delivering the god's prophecies, is a variant of that dealt with at tau 15. For this version cf. Diogenianus 8.21, but outside lexicography the phrase appears as such only at Philostratus, Life of Apollonius 2.37; elsewhere it appears with qualifications such as "Pythian tripod" or "Delphic tripod"; e.g. Lucian, Pseudologista 10, or (with irony) "Macedonian tripod" at Plutarch, Demosthenes 29. See generally Tosi no.2285.
  2. 1Homer Iliad 1.70 (describing not Apollo but the seer Calchas). ↩
  3. 2A closely similar version of this story is found in the scholia to Aristophanes, Wealth [Plutus] 9, where the phrase tri/podos e)k xrushla/tou ("From a golden tripod") occurs. ↩
  4. 3a.k.a. the Seven Sages; see generally OCD(4) s.v. ↩

References


Renzo Tosi, Dictionnaire des sentences latines et grecques (Grenoble 2010)

Neighbouring entries

τ18Τάδ' οὐ παρὰ Κενταύροισιthese things not among Centaursτ19Τὰ ἐκ τῶν ἁμαξῶν σκώμματαthe jibes from out of the cartsτ20Τὰ ἐκ τρίποδοςthings from the tripodτ21Τὰ ἐν ποσίthings at one's feetτ22Τὰ ἐπὶ κοσκίνουthings on a sieve
Revision history6 revisions · last 17 Jun 2022
  1. coding — Catharine Roth
  2. Revised — David Whitehead
  3. typo — William Hutton
  4. augmented notes and keywords; tweaks and cosmetics; raised status — David Whitehead
  5. Added note 2, another keyword — William Hutton
  6. modified translation, added notes and keywords, raised status — William Hutton
  7. Translated — Rachael Birch

Cite this entry

“things from the tripod.” Suda On Line. Tr. Rachael Birch. 30 January 2014. <https://www.cs.uky.edu/~raphael/sol/sol-entries/tau/20>. Read at ReadSuda: <https://readsuda.org/tau/20>.

Translation by Rachael Birch for Suda On Line, revised by Catharine Roth, David Whitehead, William Hutton, licensed CC BY-NC-SA 1.0. Shown unchanged, under the same licence, non-commercially. Licence & terms

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