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Athenaeus, The Learned Banqueters (Deipnosophistae) 603a · 603a

Alexander, mad for boys

Myrtilus — ὃν καὶ ἁρπάσαντα καὶ ἀναθέμενον εἰς ἅρμα εἰς Θήβας φυγεῖν. Πράξιλλα δ’ ἡ Σικυωνία ὑπὸ Διός φησιν ἁρπασθῆναι τὸν Χρύσιππον. καὶ Κελτοὶ δὲ τῶν βαρβάρων καίτοι καλλίστας ἔχοντες γυναῖκας παιδικοῖς μᾶλλον χαίρουσιν· ὡς πολλάκις ἐνίους ἐπὶ ταῖς δοραῖς μετὰ δύο ἐρωμένων ἀναπαύεσθαι. Πέρσας δὲ παρ’ Ἑλλήνων φησὶν Ἡρόδοτος μαθεῖν τὸ παισὶν χρῆσθαι. φιλόπαις δ’ ἦν ἐκμανῶς καὶ Ἀλέξανδρος ὁ βασιλεύς. Δικαίαρχος γοῦν ἐν τῷ περὶ τῆς ἐν

…whom he carried off, put in a chariot, and fled with to Thebes. But Praxilla of Sicyon says that Chrysippus was carried off by Zeus. Among the barbarians the Celts too, although they have the most beautiful wives, take more delight in boys, so that some of them often sleep on skins with two beloveds. And the Persians, Herodotus says, learned from the Greeks to have sex with boys. King Alexander too was madly fond of boys. Dicaearchus, at any rate, in his book On the…

Word by word

Myrtilus

ὃνhònwhomκαὶkaì—ἁρπάσανταharpásantahe carried offκαὶkaìandἀναθέμενονanathémenonputεἰςeisinἅρμαhármaa chariotεἰςeistoΘήβαςThḗbasThebesφυγεῖνphygeînfled.ΠράξιλλαPráxillaPraxillaδ’d’butἡhē—ΣικυωνίαSikyōníaof SicyonὑπὸhypòbyΔιόςDiósZeusφησινphēsinsaysἁρπασθῆναιharpasthênaiwas carried offτὸνtòn—ΧρύσιππονChrýsipponChrysippus.καὶkaìtooΚελτοὶKeltoìthe Celtsδὲdèandτῶνtônamong theβαρβάρωνbarbárōnbarbariansκαίτοιkaítoialthoughκαλλίσταςkallístasthe most beautifulἔχοντεςéchontesthey haveγυναῖκαςgynaîkaswivesπαιδικοῖςpaidikoîsboysμᾶλλονmâllonmoreχαίρουσινchaírousintake delight in·ὡςhōsso thatπολλάκιςpollákisoftenἐνίουςeníoussomeἐπὶepìonταῖςtaîs—δοραῖςdoraîsskinsμετὰmetàwithδύοdýotwoἐρωμένωνerōménōnbelovedsἀναπαύεσθαιanapaúesthaisleep.ΠέρσαςPérsasthe Persiansδὲdèandπαρ’par’fromἙλλήνωνHellḗnōnthe GreeksφησὶνphēsìnsaysἩρόδοτοςHēródotosHerodotusμαθεῖνmatheînlearnedτὸtò—παισὶνpaisìnboysχρῆσθαιchrêsthaito have sex with.φιλόπαιςphilópaisfond of boysδ’d’andἦνênwasἐκμανῶςekmanôsmadlyκαὶkaìtooἈλέξανδροςAléxandrosAlexanderὁho—βασιλεύςbasileúsKing.ΔικαίαρχοςDikaíarchosDicaearchusγοῦνgoûnat any rateἐνeninτῷtôihisπερὶperìOnτῆςtêstheἐνen—

The setting

Praxilla of Sicyon was a woman poet of the 5th century BC. Dicaearchus, a pupil of Aristotle, wrote a Life of Greece; his book on Alexander's sacrifice at Troy is lost.

A note on this passage

Chrysippus is carried off twice in these lines, once by a man and once by a god, as Ganymede was on the page before.<br><br>Then the foreigners. Herodotus does say this of the Persians (1.135), in a list of foreign customs they took up. Alexander comes next, and the stories about him show both sides of his reputation: the king who loved openly, and the king who kept his hands off what he had won.

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