Xenophon of Ephesus, An Ephesian Tale 1.9.9 · 1.9.9
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Ταῦτα εἶπε, καὶ περιφύντες ἀνεπαύοντο καὶ τὰ πρῶτα τῶν Ἀφροδίτης ἀπέλαυον· ἐφιλονείκουν δὲ δι’ ὅλης ⟨τῆς⟩ νυκτὸς πρὸς ἀλλήλους, φιλοτιμούμενοι τίς φανεῖται μᾶλλον ἐρῶν.
So she spoke, and holding each other they lay down to rest and enjoyed the first gifts of Aphrodite. All night long they competed with each other, vying to see which of them would prove more in love.
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The setting
Book 1, chapter 9. The rest of the wedding night.
A note on this passage
The Greek says only τὰ πρῶτα τῶν Ἀφροδίτης, "the first things of Aphrodite," and goes no further. Their night becomes a contest: ἐφιλονείκουν, "they competed," is the verb of φιλόνεικος, "fond of winning," the word used of Eros himself in 1.2.1. δι’ ὅλης ⟨τῆς⟩ νυκτός, "all night long," is the phrase of 1.5.1, where each of them spent the night lamenting alone; Hercher supplies the article in both places.
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