Plutarch, De Iside et Osiride 50
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Plutarch, De Iside et Osiride 50 Ancient Greek
Plutarch, De Iside et Osiride
διὸ καὶ τῶν μὲν ἡμέρων ζῴων ἀπονέμουσιν αὐτῷ τὸ ἀμαθέστατον, ὄνον· τῶν δʼ ἀγρίων τὰ θηριωδέστατα, κροκόδειλον καὶ τὸν ποτάμιον ἵππον. περὶ μὲν οὖν τοῦ ὄνου προδεδηλώκαμεν. ἐν Ἑρμοῦ πόλει δὲ Τυφῶνος ἄγαλμα δεικνύουσιν ἵππον ποτάμιον· ἐφʼ οὗ βέβηκεν ἱέραξ ὄφει μαχόμενος, τῷ μὲν ἵππῳ τὸν Τυφῶνα δεικνύντες, τῷ δʼ ἱέρακι δύναμιν καὶ ἀρχήν, ἣν βίᾳ κτώμενος ὁ Τυφὼν πολλάκις οὐκ ἀνίεται ταραττόμενος ὑπὸ τῆς κακίας καὶ ταράττων. διὸ καὶ θύοντες ἑβδόμῃ τοῦ Τυβὶ μηνός, ἣν καλοῦσιν ἄφιξιν Ἴσιδος ἐκ Φοινίκης, ἐπιπλάττουσι τοῖς ποπάνοις ἵππον ποτάμιον δεδεμένον. ἐν δʼ Ἀπόλλωνος πόλει νενομισμένον ἐστὶ κροκοδείλου φαγεῖν πάντως ἕκαστον· ἡμέρᾳ δὲ μιᾷ θηρεύσαντες ὅσους ἂν δύνωνται καὶ κτείναντες ἀπαντικρὺ τοῦ ἱεροῦ προβάλλουσι, καὶ λέγουσιν ὡς ὁ Τυφὼν τὸν Ὧρον ἀπέδρα κροκόδειλος γενόμενος, πάντα καὶ ζῷα καὶ φυτὰ καὶ πάθη τὰ φαῦλα καὶ βλαβερὰ Τυφῶνος ἔργα καὶ μέρη καὶ κινήματα ποιούμενοι.
For this reason they assign to him the most stupid of the domesticated animals, the ass, and of the wild animals, the most savage, the crocodile and the hippopotamus. In regard to the ass we have already offered some explanation. At Hermopolis they point out a statue of Typhon in the form of an hippopotamus, on whose back is poised a hawk fighting with a serpent. By the hippopotamus they mean to indicate Typhon, and by the hawk a power and rule, which Typhon strives to win by force, oftentimes without success, being confused by his wickedness and creating confusion For this reason, when they offer sacrifice on the seventh day of the month Tybi, which they call the Coming of Isis from Phoenicia, they imprint on their sacred cakes the image of an hippopotamus tied fast. In the town of Apollonopolis it is an established custom for every person without exception to eat, of a crocodile; and on one day they hunt as many as they can and, after killing them, cast them down directly opposite the temple. And they relate that Typhon escaped Horus by turning into a crocodile, and they would make out that all animals and plants and incidents that are bad and harmful are the deeds and parts and movements of Typhon.
English (Perseus/OGL perseus-eng3)
Translation: Perseus Digital Library — English translation (as released in canonical-greekLit / canonical-latinLit) · CC BY-SA 4.0
View at the source → urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0007.tlg089.perseus-grc2:50
Cite as
Plutarch, De Iside et Osiride 50 — Perseus Digital Library — canonical-greekLit (Tufts University) (CC BY-SA 4.0) · urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0007.tlg089.perseus-grc2:50