Exhortation to the Greeks 2.37
Summary: Zeus, once a lover in many disguises, no longer acts at all; he is dead, and the Cretans show his tomb.
Greek text · Stählin 1:27–28
ἠγνόει γὰρ ὁ θεὸς ὡς ἄρα Λυκάων ὁ Ἀρκὰς ὁ ἑστιάτωρ αὐτοῦ τὸν παῖδα κατασφάξας τὸν αὑτοῦ (Νύκτιμος ὄνομα αὐτῷ) παραθείη ὄψον τῷ Διί. καλός γε ὁ Ζεὺς ὁ μαντικός, ὁ ξένιος, ὁ ἱκέσιος, ὁ μειλίχιος, ὁ πανομφαῖος, ὁ προστροπαῖος· μᾶλλον δὲ ὁ ἄδικος, ὁ ἄθεσμος, ὁ ἄνομος, ὁ ἀνόσιος, ὁ ἀπάνθρωπος, ὁ βίαιος, ὁ φθορεύς, ὁ μοιχός, ὁ ἐρωτικός. ἀλλὰ τότε μὲν ἦν, ὅτε τοιοῦτος ἦν, ὅτε ἄνθρωπος ἦν, νῦν δὲ ἤδη μοι δοκοῦσι καὶ οἱ μῦθοι ὑμῖν γεγηρακέναι. δράκων ὁ Ζεὺς οὐκέτι, οὐ κύκνος ἐστίν, οὐκ ἀετός, οὐκ ἄνθρωπος ἐρωτικός· οὐχ ἵπταται θεός, οὐ παιδεραστεῖ, οὐ φιλεῖ, οὐ βιάζεται, καίτοι πολλαὶ καὶ καλαὶ καὶ νῦν ἔτι γυναῖκες καὶ Λήδας εὐπρεπέστεραι καὶ Σεμέλης ἀκμαιότεραι, μειράκια δὲ ὡραιότερα καὶ πολιτικώτερα τοῦ Φρυγίου βουκόλου. ποῦ νῦν ἐκεῖνος ὁ ἀετός; ποῦ δὲ ὁ κύκνος; ποῦ δὲ αὐτὸς ὁ Ζεύς; γεγήρακε μετὰ τοῦ πτεροῦ· οὐ γὰρ δήπου μετανοεῖ τοῖς ἐρωτικοῖς οὐδὲ παιδεύεται σωφρονεῖν. γυμνοῦται δὲ ὑμῖν ὁ μῦθος· ἀπέθανεν ἡ Λήδα, ἀπέθανεν ὁ κύκνος, ἀπέθανεν ὁ ἀετός. ζήτει σου τὸν Δία· μὴ τὸν οὐρανόν, ἀλλὰ τὴν γῆν πολυπραγμόνει. ὁ Κρής σοι διηγήσεται, παρʼ ᾧ καὶ τέθαπται· Καλλίμαχος ἐν ὕμνοις καὶ γὰρ τάφον, ὦ ἄνα, σεῖο Κρῆτες ἐτεκτήναντο. τέθνηκε γὰρ ὁ Ζεὺς (μὴ δυσφόρει) ὡς Λήδα, ὡς κύκνος, ὡς ἀετός, ὡς ἄνθρωπος ἐρωτικός, ὡς δράκων.
English · Claude translation
For the god did not know that Lycaon the Arcadian, his host, had slaughtered his own son (Nyctimus was his name) and set him before Zeus as a dish. A fine god indeed is Zeus: the prophet, the protector of guests, the protector of suppliants, the gracious, the author of all oracles, the avenger; or rather the unjust, the lawless, the unrighteous, the unholy, the inhuman, the violent, the seducer, the adulterer, the lover. But that was when he was such, when he was a man; now, it seems to me, even your myths have grown old. Zeus is no longer a serpent, nor a swan, nor an eagle, nor an amorous man; the god does not fly, does not love boys, does not kiss, does not rape; and yet there are still many beautiful women even now, more comely than Leda and more blooming than Semele, and boys more lovely and more refined than the Phrygian herdsman. Where now is that eagle? Where is the swan? Where is Zeus himself? He has grown old, feathers and all; for surely he does not repent of his love affairs, nor is he being taught self-control. Your myth is laid bare: Leda is dead, the swan is dead, the eagle is dead. Look for your Zeus; do not search heaven, but the earth. The Cretan, in whose land he is also buried, will tell you; Callimachus in his hymns: “For the Cretans, O lord, even built your tomb.” For Zeus is dead (do not take it hard), like Leda, like the swan, like the eagle, like the amorous man, like the serpent.
About this passage
Notes
Translation notes
- Callimachus, Hymn to Zeus 8–9. Clement's point is that the Cretans' claim, which Callimachus rejects, is true: Zeus was a man and died.
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (stray period after the question mark in the digital text): ποῦ νῦν ἐκεῖνος ὁ ἀετός;. → ποῦ νῦν ἐκεῖνος ὁ ἀετός;.
Cite this passage
Clement of Alexandria, Protr. 2.37 (trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/clement-protrepticus/2/37/).
Plain text
Clement of Alexandria, Protr. 2.37 (trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/clement-protrepticus/2/37/).
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