[2,45] ἐπεί τοι καί φασιν αὐτὸν ἐπαινέτην Ὁμήρου γενέσθαι, καὶ πρῶτον ἀπὸ Κρήτης {ἢ τῆς Ἰωνίας} κομίσαι τὴν ποίησιν εἰς τὴν Ἑλλάδα. τὸν γοῦν Διομήδην πάνυ στερεῶς κατέκλινεν ἐπὶ βύρσης ἀγραύλου βοός, κύκλῳ περιστήσας τὰ δόρατα ὀρθὰ ἐπὶ σαυρωτῆρος, οὐ κόσμου χάριν, ἀλλ´ ἕτοιμα λαβεῖν· εὐωχεῖ γε μὴν ἀπὸ κρεῶν τοὺς ἥρωας, καὶ τούτων βοείων, δῆλον ὅτι ἰσχύος, οὐχ ἡδονῆς ἕνεκεν. (46) τὸν γοῦν Ἀγαμέμνονα τὸν ξυμπάντων βασιλέα καὶ πλουσιώτατον βοῦν ἀεί φησι θύειν, καὶ ἐπὶ τοῦτον καλεῖν τοὺς ἀρίστους. καὶ τὸν Αἴαντα μετὰ τὴν νίκην φιλοφρονεῖται τοῖς νώτοις τοῦ βοός. (47) ἰχθύων δὲ οὐδέποτε γευομένους αὐτοὺς ἐποίησεν, καὶ ταῦτα ἐπὶ θαλάττῃ στρατοπεδεύοντας, καίτοι τὸν Ἑλλήσποντον, ὥσπερ ἐστίν, ἰχθυόεντα ἑκάστοτε καλῶν· πάνυ γὰρ ὀρθῶς αὐτὸ τοῦτο ἀπεμνημόνευσεν ὁ Πλάτων· ἀλλ´ οὐδὲ τοὺς μνηστῆρας ἰχθύσιν ἑστιᾷ, σφόδρα ἀσελγεῖς καὶ τρυφεροὺς ὄντας, ἐν Ἰθάκῃ καὶ ταῦτα ἑστιωμένους. (48) ὅτι γε μὴν οὐκ ἄλλως διέξεισι ταῦτα, φανερῶς αὐτὸς ἀποφαίνεται ποίαν τινὰ δεῖ τὴν τροφὴν εἶναι καὶ πρὸς τί γιγνομένην. ἣν γὰρ ἂν θέλῃ ἐπαινέσαι, μενοεικέα δαῖτά φησιν, τὴν οἵαν τε παρέχειν μένος, τουτέστιν ἰσχύν. ταῦτα δὲ λέγει διδάσκων καὶ παραινῶν {ὡς δεῖ καὶ τραπέζης ἐπιμελεῖσθαι τοὺς ἀγαθούς}, ἐπεὶ τροφῆς γε παντοίας καὶ πολυτελείας οὐκ ἐτύγχανεν ἄπειρος ὤν, ὥστε τοὺς περὶ ταῦτα νῦν ἐπτοημένους Πέρσας καὶ Σύρους καὶ τῶν Ἑλλήνων Ἰταλιώτας καὶ Ἴωνας μηδὲ ἐγγὺς ἐφικνεῖσθαι τῆς παρ´ Ὁμήρῳ χορηγίας καὶ ἁβρότητος. (49) Τί δέ, εἶπεν ὁ Φίλιππος, οὐ δίδωσιν ἐσθῆτα ὡς οἷόν τε καλλίστην τοῖς ἥρωσι; Νὴ Δία γε, ἦ δ´ ὃς ὁ Ἀλέξανδρος, οὐ μέντοι γυναικείαν οὐδὲ ποικίλην, ἀλλὰ πορφύρᾳ μόνον ἐκόσμησε τὸν Ἀγαμέμνονα, καὶ τὸν Ὀδυσσέα δὲ μιᾷ χλαίνῃ τῇ οἴκοθεν. οὐδὲ γὰρ οἴεται δεῖν Ὅμηρος τὸν ἡγεμόνα φαίνεσθαι ταπεινὸν οὐδὲ τοῖς πολλοῖς καὶ ἰδιώταις ὅμοιον, ἀλλὰ καὶ στολῇ καὶ ὁπλίσει διαφέρειν παρὰ τοὺς ἄλλους ἐπὶ τὸ μεῖζον καὶ σεμνότερον, οὐ μὴν τρυφῶντά γε οὐδὲ {σπουδάζοντα}.

[2,45] In fact, the story is that he came to be an admirer of Homer and was the first who brought his poems from Crete, or from Ionia, to Greece. To illustrate my point : the poet represents Diomede as reclining on a hard bed, the ' hide of an ox that dwelleth afield ' ; round about him he had planted his spears upright, butts downward, not for the sake of order but to have them ready for use. Furthermore, he regales his heroes on meat, and beef at that, evidently to give them strength, not pleasure. For instance, he is always talking about an ox being slain by Agamemnon, who was king over all and the richest, and of his inviting the chieftains to enjoy it. And to Ajax, after his victory, Agamemnon gives the chine of an ox as a mark of favour. But Homer never represents his heroes as partaking of fish although they are encamped by the sea; and yet he regularly calls the Hellespont fish-abounding, as in truth it is; Plato has very properly called attention to this striking fact. Nay, he does not even serve fish to the suitors at their banquet though they are exceedingly licentious and luxury-loving men, are in Ithaca and, what is more, engaged in feasting. Now because Homer does not give such details without a purpose, he is evidently declaring his own opinion as to what kind of nourishment is best, and what it is good for. If he wishes to commend a feast, he uses the expression `might-giving,' that is to say, ` able to supply might ' or strength. In the passages in question he is giving instruction and advice as to how good men should take thought even for their table, since, as it happened, he was not unacquainted with food of all kinds and with high living. So true is this that the peoples of to-day who have fairly gone mad in this direction—the Persians, Syrians and, among the Greeks, the Italiots, and lonians—come nowhere near attaining the prodigality and luxury we find in Homer." (49) "But how is it that he does not give the finest possible apparel to his heroes ? " Philip enquired. "Why, by Zeus, he does," replied Alexander, " though it is no womanish or embroidered apparel; Agamemnon is the only one that wears a purple robe, and even Odysseus has but one purple cloak that he brought from home. For Homer believes that a commander should not be mean of appearance or look like the crowd of private soldiers, but should stand out from the rest in both garb and armour so as to show his greater importance and dignity, yet without being a fop or fastidious about such things.