Texte grec :
| [32,75] αὐτὸν γὰρ οἶμαι τὸν Ἰξίονα λῆρον ἀποφαίνετε τὸν ἐν τῷ τροχῷ παρὰ
τοῖς ποιηταῖς ἐνδεδεμένον {καὶ κολαζόμενον διὰ τοιαύτην τινὰ ἀσέβειαν.}
φέρε οὖν, εἰ μεταξὺ θεῶν τις ὑμῖν ἐπιστὰς εἴποι διατεινάμενος,
δαιμόνιοι, μαίνεσθε καὶ οὐκέτι κεύθετε θυμῷ
βρωτὺν οὐδὲ ποτῆτα.
τί σφόδρα οὕτω κυκᾶσθε; τίς ἡ σπουδή; τίς ὁ ἀγών; οὐ γὰρ Πέλοψ
ἐστὶν ὁ διώκων, οὐδ´ Οἰνόμαος οὐδὲ Μυρτίλος, ὁ μὲν δεύτερος
ἀπὸ Διὸς γεγονώς, ὁ δὲ Ἑρμοῦ παῖς, οὐδὲ περὶ βασιλείας οὐδὲ
γυναικὸς οὐδὲ θανάτου πρόκειται κρίσις, ἀλλ´ ἔστιν ὁ ἀγὼν ἀνδραπόδων
ὑπὲρ τοῦ τυχόντος ἀργυρίου, νῦν μὲν ἡττωμένων, νῦν
δὲ νικώντων, ἀεὶ τῶν αὐτῶν· εἰ λέγοι ταῦτα, τί ἐρεῖτε; ἢ δῆλον
ὅτι οὐδ´ ἀκούσεσθε παρ´ ἐκεῖνον τὸν καιρόν, οὐδὲ ἂν αὐτὸς ὑμῖν
ὁ τοῦ Πέλοπος διαλέγηται πρόγονος; τίνα οὖν εὕρῃ τις ἐπικουρίαν
ἢ τίνα ἐξιλάσασθαι δεῖ δαιμόνων; ἔστιν Ὀλυμπίασι κατὰ
μέσον τὸν ἱππόδρομον Ταραξίππου Ποσειδῶνος βωμός, ἔνθα μάλιστα
συνέβαινε τοὺς ἵππους πτοεῖσθαι καὶ πλεῖστα διαφθείρεσθαι τῶν ἁρμάτων.
ἔδοξεν οὖν τοῖς Ἠλείοις ὡς δαιμονίου τινὸς
ὄντος ἱδρύσασθαι βωμόν. καὶ τὸ λοιπόν φασιν ἀπ´ ἐκείνου γεγονέναι
τὸν τόπον ἀσφαλῆ. πολὺ δὴ μᾶλλον ἔγωγε ὑμῖν συμβουλεύω τὸν θεὸν
τοῦτον ἐξιλάσασθαι καὶ βωμὸν ἱδρύσασθαι τὸν
αὐτόν, μὰ Δί´ οὐχ ὑπὲρ τῶν ἵππων, ἀλλ´ ὑπὲρ ὑμῶν αὐτῶν, ὅπως
μὴ ταράττησθε μηδὲ ἐκπίπτητε τῆς τάξεως. μὴ γὰρ δαιμόνια
πάντ´ ᾖ τὰ τοιαῦτα καὶ μείζονος δεόμενα ἀποτροπῆς. φασὶν ἀρχαίαν
βασιλίδα ἐν Κρήτῃ τῶν Ἡλιαδῶν ἐρασθῆναι ταύρου, καὶ
συγγενομένην χαλεπόν τι καὶ μέγα τεκεῖν τέρας. δέδοικα δὴ κἀγὼ
τὸν ἱππικὸν τοῦτον ἔρωτα τῆς πόλεως, μή τι δυσχερὲς ὑμῖν καὶ
ξένον ἐνέγκῃ τῷ χρόνῳ. {πάλιν δὲ ἑτέραν παρθένον ποταμοῦ τινος
ἐρασθεῖσαν ὁσημέραι φοιτᾶν ἐπὶ τὸ ῥεῦμα, καὶ τόν τε ἀφρὸν ἐντίθεσθαι
ταῖς ἀγκάλαις καὶ τὸ ὕδωρ ὑποδέχεσθαι τοῖς κόλποις.}
Ἀθήνησι δὲ αὐτὸ τοῦτο τὸ ζῷον ἀγαπηθῆναι τὸ καὶ παρ´ ὑμῖν
εὐδοκιμοῦν· καὶ νῦν ἐστιν ἐν τῇ πόλει τόπος οὕτω καλούμενος
Ἵππου καὶ κόρης ἄβατον. ὁ γὰρ πατὴρ συγκαθεῖρξε τὴν παῖδα
τῷ ἵππῳ, καί φασιν οὕτω διαφθαρῆναι τὴν κόρην. σκοπεῖτε δὲ
μὴ καὶ ὑμεῖς ὑπὸ τῆς τοιαύτης ἐπιθυμίας ἀπόλησθε.
ποῖος γὰρ Ὅμηρος ἢ τίς ἀνθρώπων δύναται τὰ συμβαίνοντα
εἰπεῖν; οὐ γὰρ οὕτως ἐκεῖνός φησι τὰ ἅρματα ταπεινὰ γίγνεσθαι
μεταξὺ καὶ σφόδρα ὑψηλὰ κατὰ τὸν δρόμον, ὡς τὰς ὑμετέρας
ψυχὰς ἰδεῖν ἔστι πασχούσας. φησὶ δ´ οὕτως, ἵν´ ὑμῖν καὶ χαρίσωμαί
τι μικρόν·
ἅρματα δ´ ἄλλοτε μὲν χθονὶ πίλνατο πουλυβοτείρῃ,
ἄλλοτε δ´ ἀΐξασκε μετήορα, τοὶ δ´ ἐλατῆρες
ἕστασαν ἐν δίφροισι, πάτασσε δὲ θυμὸς ἑκάστου
νίκης ἱεμένων, κέκλοντο δὲ οἷσιν ἕκαστος ἵπποις.
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Traduction française :
| [32,75] Why even Ixion himself, methinks, you show to have
been a second-rater, the Ixion who is represented
by the poets as bound on the wheel and punished
for some such impiety as yours. Weil then, if in the
midst of it all some god should take his stand beside
you and in a loud voice should say :
"Fools, you are mad; no more your spirit bides
Your food and drink."
Why are you so violently disturbed? What is the
excitement ? What the contest ? For it is not
Pelops who is driving, or Oenomaüs, or Myrtilus,
nor is it a question of a kingship or a wife or a death
that hangs in the balance, nay, it is only a contest of
slaves for a paltry bit of silver, slaves who sometimes
are defeated and sometimes victorious, but slaves in
any case." If the god should speak thus, what would
your reply be ? Or is it clear that you would not even
listen at such a moment as that, not even if the
grandsire of Pelops were himself the speaker ?
What succour, then, can one find, or what divine
power must one propitiate ? There is at Olympia,
at the centre of the race-course, an altar to Poseidon
Taraxippos, or Terror of Horses, on the spot where it
happened that the horses most frequently became
frightened and where many chariots were smashed.
So the Eleans decided to erect an altar on the spot,
believing that some deity was there. And from that
time forward, they say, the place has been safe.
Well then, much more earnestly do I advise you to propitiate
this god and raise an altar of the same kind,
not, by Zeus, for the sake of the horses, but rather
for the sake of yourselves, so that you may not be
terrorized yourselves or be pitched headlong from
your proper station. For perhaps all such disasters
are the work of a deity, requiring unusual efforts to
avert. It is said that an ancient Cretan queen, one
of the daughters of Helius, became enamoured of a
bull, and that after union with him she brought forth
a savage, mighty monster. So I myself am apprehensive
lest this passion for horses that infects the
city may in time bring forth some strange and
distressing offspring for you. They say also that
at Athens this very species that you so much admire
became the object of infatuation, and today there is
in that city a site that bears the name, Sanctuary of
Horse and Maiden. For the maiden's father confined
his daughter along with the horse, and thus,
they say, she was ruined. And do you beware lest
you also through a passion like that be destroyed.
For what Homer or what mortal man at all
can describe the things that happen here ? For
example, in Homer's narrative the chariots do not
sink so low at times and then rise so high on the
course as your spirits may be seen to rise and fall.
And this is the way he puts it, if I may favour you
with a short passage :
"At times the cars clung close to bounteous earth,
At times they bounded high ; the drivers still
Stood firm, though hearts did pound as each man strove
To win the goal, and each called to his team".
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