Xenophon of Ephesus, An Ephesian Tale 1.8.3 · 1.8.3
Ares unarmed, led by Eros
Read the full text in our reader
ταῦτα ἐν τῷ ἑτέρῳ μέρει τῆς σκηνῆς· ἐν δὲ τῷ ἑτέρῳ Ἄρης ἦν οὐχ ὡπλισμένος, ἀλλʼ ὡς πρὸς ἐρωμένην τὴν Ἀφροδίτην κεκοσμημένος, ἐστεφανωμένος, χλανίδα ἔχων· Ἔρως αὐτὸν ὡδήγει, λαμπάδα ἔχων ἡμμένην. Ὑπʼ αὐτῇ τῇ σκηνῇ κατέκλιναν τὴν Ἄνθειαν, ἀγαγόντες πρὸς τὸν Ἁβροκόμην, ἐπέκλεισάν τε τὰς θύρας.
All this was on one side of the canopy. On the other side was Ares, not armed, but dressed as if for his beloved, Aphrodite, with a garland and a fine cloak, and Eros was leading him, holding a lit torch. Under this very canopy they laid Anthia down, after bringing her to Habrocomes, and they shut the doors.
Word by word
The setting
Book 1, chapter 8. The other side of the embroidered canopy, and the bride brought to the groom.
A note on this passage
Ares and Aphrodite are the lovers of the song the bard Demodocus sings in the Odyssey (8.266–366), where Aphrodite's husband Hephaestus catches them in bonds as fine as cobwebs and the gods stand in the doorway laughing. The canopy shows Ares on his way to her, dressed as for a beloved, with Eros leading him by torchlight, as the wedding party led Anthia with torches in 1.8.1. In 1.2.1 Eros armed himself (ἐξοπλίσας) to make war on Habrocomes; here the god of war is οὐχ ὡπλισμένος, "not armed," from the same root, ὅπλα, "weapons."
Read the full commentary — and tap any word for its dictionary entry — in the interlinear reader.
Open Xenophon of Ephesus, An Ephesian Tale 1.8.3 in the full reader
Always open passages in the reader
From the Great Library
You are reading a page of the Xenophon of Ephesus, An Ephesian Tale — the whole book is free in our interlinear reader.
The Great Library Project presses the classics in their original languages, glossed word by word — free to read, always. Browse the whole library.
Also on our shelves:
Xenophon of Ephesus, An Ephesian Tale 1.8.3 — The Great Library Project interlinear edition · greatlibraryproject.com/book/ephesiantale/1.8.3/