Xenophon of Ephesus, An Ephesian Tale 1.4.5 · 1.4.5

He begs Eros for Anthia

ἱκέτην ἔχεις. ⟨Σὺ δὲ⟩ σῶσον τὸν ἐπὶ σὲ καταπεφευγότα τὸν πάντων δεσπότην. Μή με περιίδῃς μηδὲ ἐπὶ πολὺ τιμωρήσῃ τὸν θρασύν. Ἄπειρος ὤν, Ἔρως, ἔτι τῶν σῶν ὑπερηφάνουν· ἀλλὰ νῦν Ἄνθειαν ἡμῖν ἀπόδος· γενοῦ μὴ πικρὸς μόνον ἀντιλέγοντι, ἀλλʼ εὐεργέτης ἡττωμένῳ θεός. Ταῦτα ἔλεγεν, ὁ δὲ Ἔρως ἔτι ὠργίζετο καὶ μεγάλην τῆς ὑπεροψίας ἐνενόει τιμωρίαν εἰσπράξασθαι τὸν Ἁβροκόμην.

"You have a suppliant. You, then, save the one who has fled for refuge to you, the master of all. Do not abandon me, and do not punish the rash one for long. Being without experience, Eros, I was still scorning your ways; but now give Anthia to me. Do not be harsh only to one who defies you, but be a god who does good to one who is beaten." He said this, but Eros was still angry, and he was planning to exact a great punishment from Habrocomes for his contempt.

Word by word

ἱκέτηνhikétēna suppliantἔχειςécheisyou have.⟨Σὺ⟨Sỳyouδὲ⟩dè⟩thenσῶσονsôsonsaveτὸνtònthe oneἐπὶepìtoσὲsèyouκαταπεφευγόταkatapepheugótawho has fled for refugeτὸνtòntheπάντωνpántōnof allδεσπότηνdespótēnmaster.ΜήMḗdo notμεmemeπεριίδῃςperiídēisabandonμηδὲmēdènorἐπὶepìforπολὺpolỳlongτιμωρήσῃtimōrḗsēipunishτὸνtòntheθρασύνthrasýnrash one.ἌπειροςÁpeiroswithout experienceὤνṓnbeing,ἜρωςÉrōsEros,ἔτιétistillτῶνtôn—σῶνsônyour waysὑπερηφάνουνhyperēphánounI was scorning·ἀλλὰallàbutνῦνnŷnnowἌνθειανÁntheianAnthiaἡμῖνhēmînto meἀπόδοςapódosgive·γενοῦgenoûbeμὴmḕnotπικρὸςpikròsharshμόνονmónononlyἀντιλέγοντιantilégontito one who defies,ἀλλʼall’butεὐεργέτηςeuergétēsbenefactorἡττωμένῳhēttōménōito one who is beatenθεόςtheósa god.ΤαῦταTaûtathisἔλεγενélegenhe said,ὁho—δὲdèbutἜρωςÉrōsErosἔτιétistillὠργίζετοōrgízetowas angryκαὶkaìandμεγάληνmegálēngreatτῆςtêsfor hisὑπεροψίαςhyperopsíascontemptἐνενόειenenóeihe was planningτιμωρίανtimōríanpunishmentεἰσπράξασθαιeispráxasthaito exactτὸνtònfromἉβροκόμηνHabrokómēnHabrocomes.

The setting

Book 1, chapter 4. On the ground, Habrocomes prays to the god he once laughed at.

A note on this passage

Habrocomes prays as a ἱκέτης, a suppliant, one who has fled to a god for protection; καταπεφευγότα, "who has fled for refuge," is the verb for running to an altar. A god was expected to shield his suppliants: in Herodotus, the oracle of Apollo at Branchidae rebukes a man for driving the birds that nested in the temple out of it, and calls them "my suppliants" (Herodotus 1.159). Eros does not relent. The narrator said in 1.2.1 that he is ἀπαραίτητος, "not to be moved by prayer," toward the ὑπερήφανοι, the proud, and Habrocomes has just used the verb of that word about himself: ὑπερηφάνουν, "I was scorning."

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