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#Planudean Anthology
lionofchaeronea · 2 years
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On the Minotaur
Anthologia Planudea 126 (author and date unknown) The child who is also a bull, the finished-in-no-respect, The denouncer of his mother’s lust, the human-mixed-with-beast, The double nature, the bull-skulled, the confusion of two bodies, Who was born neither as a cow nor as a man altogether. ὁ παῖς ὁ ταῦρος, ὁ κατὰ μηδὲν ἐντελής, ὁ τῆς τεκούσης τοῦ πάθους κατήγορος, ὁ μιξόθηρ ἄνθρωπος, ἡ διπλῆ φύσις, ὁ ταυρόκρανος, ἡ πλάνη τῶν σωμάτων, ὃς οὔτε βοῦς πέφυκεν, οὔτ᾽ ἀνὴρ ὅλως.
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The Minotaur, from a statue group representing his combat with Theseus. Roman copy after a lost Greek original by the sculptor Myron that was located on the Acropolis. Now in the National Archaeological Museum, Athens. Photo credit: Marsyas/Wikimedia Commons.
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lionofchaeronea · 1 year
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On a Statue of Capaneus
Anthologia Planudea 106 (author and date unknown)
Note: in Greek mythology, Capaneus was one of the seven chieftains who attacked Thebes in support of Polynices’ claim to the throne. As he was about to storm the citadel by means of a ladder, he shouted that Zeus himself would not stop him from taking the city. This earned him a swift death by lightning bolt. Dante, in the Inferno, places Capaneus in the seventh circle of Hell as a blasphemer. If such a Capaneus had raged against the towers of Thebes, Having contrived an ascent into the air with a ladder, He would have seized the citadel by force, Fate notwithstanding – For even Zeus’ bolt would have scrupled to cut down such a fighter. εἰ τοῖος Θήβης Καπανεὺς ἐπεμήνατο πύργοις, ἄμβασιν ἠερίην κλίμακι μησάμενος, εἷλεν ἂν ἄστυ βίῃ καὶ ὑπὲρ μόρον. αἴδετο γάρ ῥα καὶ σκηπτὸς Κρονίδου τοῖον ἑλεῖν πρόμαχον.
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A scene from Aeschylus' Seven Against Thebes: Capaneus ascends the walls of Thebes. Campanian red-figure neck-amphora, attributed to the Caivano Painter; ca. 340 BCE. Now in the Getty Villa, Malibu. Photo credit: Wolfgang Sauber.
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lionofchaeronea · 2 years
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On the Famed Statue of Cnidian Aphrodite
Anthologia Planudea 161, attributed to Plato Note: “when being judged” = a reference to the Judgment of Paris that sparked the Trojan War. Neither did Praxiteles shape you, Nor did the iron tool; But you struck a pose in just the way You once did when being judged. οὔτε σε Πραξιτέλης τεχνάσατο, οὔθ᾽ ὁ σίδαρος: ἀλλ᾽ οὕτως ἔστης, ὥς ποτε κρινομένη.
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Aphrodite of Cnidus. Roman-era marble copy after the lost 4th century BCE original of Praxiteles, extensively restored by Ippolito Buzzi (1562-1634). Now in the Palazzo Altemps, Rome.
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lionofchaeronea · 7 years
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The Statue of Cnidian Aphrodite Speaks
Anthologia Graeca 16.168 (author and date unknown) Paris saw me naked; Anchises too; Likewise Adonis.  I know of none Besides those three.  So how in the world Did Praxiteles pull it off?!  Γυμνὴν εἶδε Πάρις με καὶ Ἀγχίσης καὶ Ἄδωνις·     τοὺς τρεῖς οἶδα μόνους. Πραξιτέλης δὲ πόθεν;
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Roman statue of Aphrodite/Venus, modeled after a Greek original by the sculptor Praxiteles.  Now in the Getty Museum, Los Angeles.  Photo credit: Shawn Lipowski.
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lionofchaeronea · 7 years
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Getting to Grips with Greatness
Anthologia Planudea 4.55 = Troilus Grammaticus (prob. 5th cent. CE) Tell me, statue, who was it who dedicated you? Why were you set up? For whom are you an honor? “It was to honor Lyron the city set me up, In return for the skill that he showed in wrestling.”  Εἰκών, τίς σ’ ἀνέθηκε, τίνος χάριν ἢ τίνι, λέξον. —          „Ἀντὶ παλαισμοσύνης θῆκε Λύρωνι πόλις.“
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Bronze cista handle from Praeneste, in the shape of two wrestlers.  Artist unknown; 4th cent. BCE.  Now in the Walters Art Museum, Baltimore.  Photo credit: Walters Art Museum.
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