Exhortation to the Greeks 2.15

Greek text · Stählin 1:13

μυούμενοι, ὡς ἑταίρᾳ ἐρασταί. Δηοῦς δὲ μυστήρια [καὶ] Διὸς πρὸς μητέρα Δήμητρα ἀφροδίσιοι συμπλοκαὶ καὶ μῆνις (οὐκ οἶδʼ ὅ τι φῶ λοιπόν, μητρὸς ἢ γυναικός) τῆς Δηοῦς, ἧς δὴ χάριν Βριμὼ προσαγορευθῆναι λέγεται, καὶ ἱκετηρίαι Διὸς καὶ πόμα χολῆς καὶ καρδιουλκίαι καὶ ἀρρητουργίαι· ταὐτὰ οἱ Φρύγες τελίσκουσιν Ἄττιδι καὶ Κυβέλῃ καὶ Κορύβασιν· τεθρυλήκασιν δὲ ὡς ἄρα ἀποσπάσας ὁ Ζεὺς τοῦ κριοῦ τοὺς διδύμους φέρων ἐν μέσοις ἔρριψε τοῖς κόλποις τῆς Δηοῦς, τιμωρίαν ψευδῆ τῆς βιαίας συμπλοκῆς ἐκτιννύων, ὡς ἑαυτὸν δῆθεν ἐκτεμών. τὰ σύμβολα τῆς μυήσεως ταύτης ἐκ περιουσίας παρατεθέντα οἶδʼ ὅτι κινήσει γέλωτα καὶ μὴ γελασείουσιν ὑμῖν διὰ τοὺς ἐλέγχους· »ἐκ τυμπάνου ἔφαγον· ἐκ κυμβάλου ἔπιον· ἐκερνοφόρησα· ὑπὸ τὸν παστὸν ὑπέδυν.« ταῦτα οὐχ ὕβρις τὰ σύμβολα;

English · Claude translation

… as lovers do to a courtesan. The mysteries of Demeter are Zeus's amorous embraces with his mother Demeter, and the wrath of Demeter (I do not know what else to call her, his mother or his wife), because of which she is said to have been called Brimo; and the supplications of Zeus, and the drink of bile, and the tearing out of hearts, and unspeakable deeds. The Phrygians perform the same rites for Attis and Cybele and the Corybantes. They have spread the tale that Zeus tore off the testicles of a ram and brought them and threw them into Demeter's lap, paying a sham penalty for his violent embrace, as though he had castrated himself. The tokens of this initiation, set out here for good measure, will, I know, move you to laughter even if you are not inclined to laugh, since they expose you: “I ate from the drum; I drank from the cymbal; I carried the sacred dish; I slipped into the bridal chamber.” Are not these tokens an outrage?

About this passage

Source

Stählin 1:13 · Otto Stählin, ed., Clemens Alexandrinus, vol. 1, Protrepticus und Paedagogus, GCS 12 (Leipzig: Hinrichs, 1905) · Greek text: Otto Stählin, Clemens Alexandrinus 1: Protrepticus und Paedagogus (GCS 12, 1905), digitized by the First Thousand Years of Greek project (Open Greek and Latin), CC BY-SA 4.0

Text

As printed in Stählin, GCS 12. Manuscript variants and the editor's apparatus are not reproduced; no textual problem is noted in this passage.

Translation

Claude translation (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-26 · Translated by Claude from the Greek text of Stählin (1905); made independently of existing English translations.

Compare

Ante-Nicene Fathers, vol. 2 (1885) (an older public-domain English translation, whole volume at CCEL; checked against ours only after ours was made)

Notes

Translation notes

The initiation formula (“I ate from the drum …”) is one of the few surviving passwords of the mysteries; it belongs to the cult of Cybele (or of Demeter as Mother).

Cite this passage

Clement of Alexandria, Protr. 2.15 (trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/clement-protrepticus/2/15/).

Plain text

Clement of Alexandria, Protr. 2.15 (trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/clement-protrepticus/2/15/).