Xenophon of Ephesus, An Ephesian Tale 1.11.6 · 1.11.6
Rhodes comes in sight
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Ταῦτα ἔλεγεν ἡ Ἄνθεια· ἐπώμνυε δὲ καὶ ὁ Ἁβροκόμης, καὶ ὁ καιρὸς αὐτῶν ἐποίει τοὺς ὅρκους φοβερωτέρους. Ἐν τούτῳ δὲ ἡ ναῦς Κῶ μὲν παραμείβει καὶ Κνίδον, κατεφαίνετο δʼ ἡ Ῥοδίων νῆσος μεγάλη καὶ καλή· καὶ αὐτοὺς ἐνταῦθα ἔδει καταχθῆναι πάντως· δεῖν γὰρ ἔφασκον οἱ ναῦται καὶ ὑδρεύσασθαι καὶ αὐτοὺς ἀναπαύσασθαι, μέλλοντας εἰς μακρὸν ἐμπεσεῖσθαι πλοῦν.
This was what Anthia said, and Habrocomes swore too, and their situation made the oaths more fearsome. Meanwhile the ship passed Cos and Cnidus, and the island of the Rhodians came into view, large and beautiful. They had to put in there in any case, for the sailors said they needed both to take on water and to rest, since they were about to set out on a long voyage.
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The setting
Book 1, chapter 11. The ship sails on south along the coast of Caria.
A note on this passage
To see the sun is an old Greek way of saying to be alive: Thetis says of Achilles that he grieves as long as he lives and sees the light of the sun (Iliad 18.61). Anthia has just sworn that apart from Habrocomes she will not see it, and their next landfall is the Sun's own island. Pindar tells how Rhodes rose from the sea as the share of Helios (Olympian 7.54–76), and there the couple will dedicate golden armor in his temple (1.12.2).
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