To Autolycus 2.7
Summary: The Greek genealogies, such as Satyrus's descent of the Ptolemies from Dionysus, show that the gods were ancestors of men, that is, men.
Greek text · Otto 8:62–68
Τί δέ μοι λέγειν τοὺς κατὰ Ἕλληνας μύθους καὶ τὴν ἐν αὐτοῖς ματαιοπονίαν, Πλούτωνα μὲν σκότους βασιλεύοντα, καὶ Ποσειδῶνα ὑπὸ πόντον δύνοντα καὶ τῇ Μελανίππῃ περιπλεκόμενον καὶ υἱὸν ἀνθρωποβόρον γεννήσαντα, ἢ περὶ τῶν τοῦ Διὸς παίδων ὁπόσα οἱ συγγραφεῖς ἐτραγῴδησαν; Καὶ ὅτι οὗτοι ἄνθρωποι καὶ οὐ θεοὶ ἐγεννήθησαν, τὸ γένος αὐτῶν αὐτοὶ καταλέγουσιν. Ἀριστοφάνης δὲ ὁ κωμικὸς ἐν ταῖς ἐπιγραφομέναις Ὄρνισιν, ἐπιχειρήσας περὶ τῆς τοῦ κόσμου ποιήσεως, ἔφη ἐν πρώτοις ὠὸν γεγενῆσθαι τὴν σύστασιν τοῦ κόσμου, λέγων· Πρώτιστα τεκὼν μελανόπτερος ὠόν. Ἀλλὰ καὶ Σάτυρος ἱστορῶν τοὺς δήμους Ἀλεξανδρέων, ἀρξάμενος ἀπὸ Φιλοπάτορος τοῦ καὶ Πτολεμαίου προσαγορευθέντος, τούτου μηνύει Διόνυσον ἀρχηγέτην γεγονέναι· διὸ καὶ φυλὴν ὁ Πτολεμαῖος πρώτην κατέστησεν. Λέγει οὖν ὁ Σάτυρος οὕτως· Διονύσου καὶ Ἀλθαίας τῆς Θεστίου γεγενῆσθαι Δηϊάνειραν, τῆς δὲ καὶ Ἡρακλέους τοῦ Διὸς Ὕλλον, τοῦ δὲ Κλεόδημον, τοῦ δὲ Ἀριστόμαχον, τοῦ δὲ Τήμενον, τοῦ δὲ Κεῖσον, τοῦ δὲ Μάρωνα, τοῦ δὲ Θέστιον, τοῦ δὲ Ἀκοόν, τοῦ δὲ Ἀριστομίδαν, τοῦ δὲ Καρανόν, τοῦ δὲ Κοινόν, τοῦ δὲ Τυρίμμαν, τοῦ δὲ Περδίκκαν, τοῦ δὲ Φίλιππον, τοῦ δὲ Ἀέροπον, τοῦ δὲ Ἀλκέταν, τοῦ δὲ Ἀμύνταν, τοῦ δὲ Βόκρον, τοῦ δὲ Μελέαγρον, τοῦ δὲ Ἀρσινόην, τῆς δὲ καὶ Λάγου Πτολεμαῖον τὸν καὶ Σωτῆρα, τοῦ δὲ καὶ Βερενίκης Πτολεμαῖον τὸν Φιλάδελφον, τοῦ δὲ καὶ Ἀρσινόης Πτολεμαῖον τὸν Εὐεργέτην, τοῦ δὲ καὶ Βερενίκης τῆς Μάγα τοῦ ἐν Κυρήνῃ βασιλεύσαντος Πτολεμαῖον τὸν Φιλοπάτορα. Ἡ μὲν οὖν πρὸς Διόνυσον τοῖς ἐν Ἀλεξανδρείᾳ βασιλεύσασιν συγγένεια οὕτως περιέχει. Ὅθεν καὶ ἐν τῇ Διονυσίᾳ φυλῇ δῆμοί εἰσιν κατακεχωρισμένοι· Ἀλθηῒς ἀπὸ τῆς γενομένης γυναικὸς Διονύσου, θυγατρὸς δὲ Θεστίου, Ἀλθαίας· Δηϊανειρὶς ἀπὸ τῆς θυγατρὸς Διονύσου καὶ Ἀλθαίας, γυναικὸς δὲ Ἡρακλέους. Ὅθεν καὶ τὰς προσωνυμίας ἔχουσιν οἱ κατʼ αὐτοὺς δῆμοι· Ἀριαδνὶς ἀπὸ τῆς θυγατρὸς Μίνω, γυναικὸς δὲ Διονύσου, παιδὸς πατροφίλης, τῆς μιχθείσης Διονύσῳ ἐν μορφῇ πρυμνητοῦ, Θεστὶς ἀπὸ Θεστίου τοῦ Ἀλθαίας πατρός, Θοαντὶς ἀπὸ Θόαντος παιδὸς Διονύσου, Σταφυλὶς ἀπὸ Σταφύλου υἱοῦ Διονύσου, Εὐαινὶς ἀπὸ Εὐνόος υἱοῦ Διονύσου, Μαρωνὶς ἀπὸ Μάρωνος υἱοῦ Ἀριάδνης καὶ Διονύσου. Οὗτοι γὰρ πάντες υἱοὶ Διονύσου. Ἀλλὰ καὶ ἕτεραι πολλαὶ ὀνομασίαι γεγόνασιν καί εἰσιν ἕως τοῦ δεῦρο, ἀπὸ Ἡρακλέους Ἡρακλεῖδαι καλούμενοι, καὶ ἀπὸ Ἀπόλλωνος Ἀπολλωνίδαι καὶ Ἀπολλώνιοι, καὶ ἀπὸ Ποσειδῶνος Ποσειδώνιοι, καὶ ἀπὸ Διὸς Δῖοι καὶ Διογέναι.
English · Claude translation
Why should I tell of the Greek myths and the futile labor in them: Pluto reigning over darkness, and Poseidon plunging under the sea, embracing Melanippe and begetting a man-eating son; or all the tragedies the writers have composed about the children of Zeus? That these were born men and not gods, they themselves show by listing their genealogies. Aristophanes the comic poet, in the play entitled The Birds, undertaking to describe the making of the world, said that in the beginning an egg came into being, the first form of the world, in these words: “First the black-winged one bore an egg.” Satyrus too, in his history of the demes of the Alexandrians, beginning from Philopator, also called Ptolemy, shows that Dionysus was the founder of his line; which is why Ptolemy established the first tribe named after him. Satyrus speaks thus: “Of Dionysus and Althaea daughter of Thestius was born Deianira; of her and Heracles son of Zeus, Hyllus; of him, Cleodemus; of him, Aristomachus; of him, Temenus; of him, Ceisus; of him, Maron; of him, Thestius; of him, Acous; of him, Aristomidas; of him, Caranus; of him, Coenus; of him, Tyrimmas; of him, Perdiccas; of him, Philip; of him, Aeropus; of him, Alcetas; of him, Amyntas; of him, Bocrus; of him, Meleager; of him, Arsinoe; of her and Lagus, Ptolemy also called Soter; of him and Berenice, Ptolemy Philadelphus; of him and Arsinoe, Ptolemy Euergetes; of him and Berenice, daughter of Magas, king of Cyrene, Ptolemy Philopator.” Such, then, is the kinship of the kings of Alexandria with Dionysus. And so in the Dionysian tribe there are demes assigned: Althaeis, from Althaea, the wife of Dionysus and daughter of Thestius; Deianeiris, from the daughter of Dionysus and Althaea, the wife of Heracles. This is where the demes among them get their names: Ariadnis, from the daughter of Minos, the wife of Dionysus, a girl who loved her father, who lay with Dionysus in the form of a steersman; Thestis, from Thestius, the father of Althaea; Thoantis, from Thoas, son of Dionysus; Staphylis, from Staphylus, son of Dionysus; Euaenis, from Eunous, son of Dionysus; Maronis, from Maron, son of Ariadne and Dionysus. All these are sons of Dionysus. And many other names have arisen and exist to this day: from Heracles, those called Heraclidae; from Apollo, Apollonidae and Apollonii; from Poseidon, Posidonii; and from Zeus, Dii and Diogenae.
About this passage
Notes
Translation notes
- Aristophanes, Birds 695.
- Satyrus's work on the demes of Alexandria survives only in this quotation.
- The phrase about Ariadne (“a girl who loved her father, who lay with Dionysus in the form of a steersman”) is obscure and perhaps corrupt.
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (wrong accent: Μὰρωνα for Μάρωνα): τοῦ δὲ Μὰρωνα → τοῦ δὲ Μάρωνα.
Cite this passage
Theophilus, Autol. 2.7 (trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/theophilus-autolycus/2/7/).
Plain text
Theophilus, Autol. 2.7 (trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/theophilus-autolycus/2/7/).
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