Xenophon of Ephesus, An Ephesian Tale 1.3.1 · 1.3.1

They see each other at the temple

Ὡς οὖν ἐτετέλεστο ἡ πομπή, ἦλθον δὲ εἰς τὸ ἱερὸν θύσοντες ἅπαν τὸ πλῆθος καὶ ὁ τῆς πομπῆς κόσμος ἐλέλυτο, ᾔεσαν δὲ ἐς ταὐτὸν ἄνδρες καὶ γυναῖκες, ἔφηβοι καὶ παρθένοι, ἐνταῦθα ὁρῶσιν ἀλλήλους, καὶ ἁλίσκεται Ἄνθεια ὑπὸ τοῦ Ἁβροκόμου, ἡττᾶται δὲ ὑπὸ ⟨τοῦ⟩ Ἔρωτος Ἁβροκόμης καὶ ἐνεώρα τε συνεχέστερον τῇ κόρῃ καὶ ἀπαλλαγῆναι τῆς ὄψεως ἐθέλων οὐκ ἐδύνατο· κατεῖχε δὲ αὐτὸν ἐγκείμενος ὁ θεός.

So when the procession was over, the whole crowd went into the temple to sacrifice, the order of the procession broke up, and men and women, youths and girls, came together in one place. There they saw each other. Anthia was captured by Habrocomes, and Habrocomes was defeated by Eros. He kept gazing at the girl more and more, and though he wanted to get away from the sight, he could not: the god held him fast, pressing hard on him.

Word by word

ὩςHōswhenοὖνoûnsoἐτετέλεστοetetélestowas overἡhētheπομπήpompḗprocession,ἦλθονêlthonhad comeδὲdèandεἰςeisintoτὸtòtheἱερὸνhieròntempleθύσοντεςthýsontesto sacrificeἅπανhápanthe wholeτὸtò—πλῆθοςplêthoscrowdκαὶkaìandὁhotheτῆςtêsof theπομπῆςpompêsprocessionκόσμοςkósmosorderἐλέλυτοelélytohad broken up,ᾔεσανḗiesanwere comingδὲdèandἐςestoταὐτὸνtautònthe same placeἄνδρεςándresmenκαὶkaìandγυναῖκεςgynaîkeswomen,ἔφηβοιéphēboiyouthsκαὶkaìandπαρθένοιparthénoigirls,ἐνταῦθαentaûthathereὁρῶσινhorôsinthey seeἀλλήλουςallḗlouseach other,καὶkaìandἁλίσκεταιhalísketaiis capturedἌνθειαÁntheiaAnthiaὑπὸhypòbyτοῦtoû—ἉβροκόμουHabrokómouHabrocomes,ἡττᾶταιhēttâtaiis defeatedδὲdèandὑπὸhypòby⟨τοῦ⟩⟨toû⟩—ἜρωτοςÉrōtosErosἉβροκόμηςHabrokómēsHabrocomesκαὶkaìandἐνεώραeneṓrahe kept gazingτεte—συνεχέστερονsynechésteronmore and moreτῇtêitheκόρῃkórēigirlκαὶkaìandἀπαλλαγῆναιapallagênaito get awayτῆςtêstheὄψεωςópseōssightἐθέλωνethélōnwantingοὐκouknotἐδύνατοedýnatohe could·κατεῖχεkateîcheheld fastδὲdèandαὐτὸνautònhimἐγκείμενοςenkeímenospressing hardὁhotheθεόςtheósgod.

The setting

Book 1, chapter 3. At the festival of Artemis the crowd has just praised Anthia and Habrocomes and imagined their marriage; now the procession reaches the temple.

A note on this passage

Eros marched against Habrocomes in 1.2.1, and the meeting is told as the end of that campaign. ἁλίσκεται, "is captured," is the verb for a city taken by an enemy. It comes from the same root as δυσάλωτος, "hard to catch," which is how the boy looked even to the god, and as αἰχμάλωτος, "taken by the spear," which is what Habrocomes is at the end of the next section. ἐγκείμενος, "pressing hard," is said of soldiers bearing down on an enemy; the god does it again, harder, in 1.4.4.

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