The previous post in this series may be found here: https://memoirandremains.wordpress.com/2015/01/06/lucian-of-samosata-concerning-sacrifices-7/

Enough of such things! Let us ascend to heaven, in a poetical flight along the same path as Homer and Hesiod, and there let us see how everything has been arranged.

It is brass on the outside, as we had heard from Homer, but peering a little over this, and simply turning your neck, the brightest light appears and pure sun and radiant start and the ground is gold.

Upon first entering there are the Hours, for these are the gates. After this we find Iris and Hermes, the servants and message bearers for Zeus. Next is Hephaestus with his forge and every sort of contrivance; after this the dwelling places for the gods and the palace of Zeus – all these spectacular things Hephaestus appointed.

 Greek Text and Notes:

 φέρε δὲ ἤδη τούτων ἀφέμενοι τῶν λόγων εἰς αὐτὸν ἀνέλθωμεν τὸν οὐρανὸν ποιητικῶς ἀναπτάμενοι κατὰ τὴν αὐτὴν Ὁμήρῳ καὶ Ἡσιόδῳ ὁδὸν καὶ θεασώμεθα ὅπως διακεκόσμηται τὰ ἄνω. καὶ ὅτι μὲν χαλκοῦς ἐστιν τὰ ἔξω, καὶ πρὸ ἡμῶν τοῦ, Ὁμήρου λέγοντος ἠκούσαμεν ὑπερβάντι δὲ καὶ ἀνακύψαντι μικρὸν εἰς τὸ ἄνω καὶ ἀτεχνῶς ἐπὶ τοῦ νώτου γενομένῳ φῶς τε λαμπρότερον φαίνεται καὶ ἥλιος καθαρώτερος καὶ ἄστρα διαυγέστερα καὶ τὸ πᾶν ἡμέρα καὶ χρυσοῦν τὸ δάπεδον. εἰσιόντων δὲ πρῶτα μὲν οἰκοῦσιν αἱ Ὧραι· πυλωροῦσι γάρ· ἔπειτα δʼ ἡ Ἶρις καὶ ὁ Ἑρμῆς ὄντες ὑπηρέται καὶ ἀγγελιαφόροι τοῦ Διός, ἑξῆς δὲ τοῦ Ἡφαίστου τὸ χαλκεῖον ἀνάμεστον ἁπάσης τέχνης, μετὰ δὲ αἱ τῶν θεῶν οἰκίαι καὶ τοῦ Διὸς τὰ βασίλεια, ταῦτα πάντα περικαλλῆ τοῦ Ἡφαίστου κατασκευάσαντος.

 

 

φέρε δὲ ἤδη τούτων ἀφέμενοι τῶν λόγων εἰς αὐτὸν

Bear, but now, of these things departing by words, to him

 

phere is an imperative: bear, carry

ἀφέμενοι: participle is adverbial: but how?

The genitive: of the words, matches touton.

 

Bear carrying away these words?

Bear to him these departing words?

How is the “eis auton”?

The idea is easy enough but the syntax is difficult. One would normally expect the words being carried away to be in the accusative, but here they are genitive. That would seem to indicate a manner/means idea: departing by words. But then what is being carried to him?

 

 

ἀνέλθωμεν τὸν οὐρανὸν

let us ascend to heaven

 

 

ποιητικῶς ἀναπτάμενοι κατὰ τὴν αὐτὴν Ὁμήρῳ καὶ Ἡσιόδῳ ὁδὸν

poetically winging along the very way used by Homer and Hesiod

 

 

ἀναπέτομαι , poet. ἀμπέταμαι IG14.1934

A.f, late ἀναπετάομαι v.l. in Gp.2.5.12: fut. -πτήσομαι: aor. ἀνεπτόμην or ἀνεπτάμην, in Trag. also ἀνέπτην, 3pl. “ἀνέπτησαν” Ant.Lib.14.4:—fly up, fly away, “ἢν . . ἀναπτῆσθε ἐς τὸν οὐρανόν” Hdt.4.132, cf. 5.55; “οἰχήσονται ἀναπτόμενοι” Antipho Fr.58; “αἰθερία δ᾽ ἀνέπτα” E.Med.440; ἀν᾽ ὑγρὸν ἀμπταίην “αἰθέρα” Id.Ion796; “ἀναπέτομαι δὴ πρὸς Ὄλυμπον” Anacr.24 = Ar.Av. 1372, cf. 35, Lys.774; “εἰ . . πτηνὸς γενόμενος ἀνάπτοιτο” Pl.Phd.109e; “εἰς τὸν οὐρανὸν ἀναπτήσῃ” Id.Lg.905a, cf. Aeschin.3.209; hurry off, Luc.Alex.30: metaph., “ἀμπτάμενα φροῦδα πάντα κεῖται” E.Andr. 1219.

2. metaph., to be on the wing, “περιχαρὴς δ᾽ ἀνεπτάμαν” S. Aj.693; “ἀνέπταν φόβῳ” Id.Ant.1307.—Cf. ἀνίπταμαι.

 

καὶ θεασώμεθα ὅπως διακεκόσμηται τὰ ἄνω.

And let us gaze so that/in order how they are arranged those things above

διακοσμέω aor. pass. διεκοσμήθην LXX; pf. pass. 3 sg. διακεκόσμηται (Ath. 10:1); ptc. διακεκοσμημένος 2 Macc 3:25 (s. διακόσμησις, κοσμέω; Hom. et al.) to make an orderly arrangement set in order, regulate τί (Jos., Ant. 6, 31) the heavens (Philo, Op. M. 53) 1 Cl 33:3 (as a cosmolog. expr. as early as the Ionic nature philosophers, later esp. in Stoic wr.; s. Knopf, Hdb. ad loc.).—DELG s.v. κόσμος.

 

William Arndt, Frederick W. Danker, and Walter Bauer, A Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament and Other Early Christian Literature (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2000), 231.

 

καὶ ὅτι μὲν χαλκοῦς ἐστιν τὰ ἔξω,

and because on one hand bronze it is the outside

 

καὶ πρὸ ἡμῶν τοῦ,

and before us this

 

Ὁμήρου λέγοντος ἠκούσαμεν ὑπερβάντι

Homer saying was have heard it goes beyond

 

 

δὲ καὶ ἀνακύψαντι μικρὸν εἰς τὸ ἄνω

yet also emerging a bit to the highest/above

 

ἀνακύπτω , fut.

A.“-κύψομαι” Ar.Av.146, Pl.Euthd.302a; “-ψω” Luc. DMar.3.1: aor. “ἀνέκυψα” Hdt.5.91, etc.: pf. “ἀνακέκυ_φα” E. Cyc.212, X. Eq.7.10:—lift up the head, Thphr.Char.11.3; ἀνακεκυφώς with the head high, of a horse, X. l. c.; κἀγκύψας (for καὶ ἀνακύψας） ἔχε and keep your head up, Ar.Th.236; “ἐν ὀροφῇ ποικίλματα θεώμενος ἀνακύπτων” throwing his head back, Pl.R.529b; “ἀνακύψατε καὶ ἐπάρατε τὰς κεφαλάς” Ev.Luc.21.28; esp. in drinking, Arist.HA613a13, cf. E. l. c.; “ἐπικύπτειν καὶ ἀ.” Gal.6.146.

1. come up out of the water, pop up, Ar.Ra.1063; “ἐκ τῆς θαλάσσης εἰς τὸν ἐνθάδε τόπον” Pl.Phd. 109d; ἀ. μέχρι τοῦ αὐχένος, opp. καταδῦναι, Id.Tht.171d, cf. Phdr. 249c.
2. metaph., emerge, crop up, “ὅτι ἐξ αὐτῶν καλόν τι ἀνακύψοιτο” Id.Euthd.302a; “αἱ -κύπτουσαι χρεῖαι” Ascl.Tact.11.7, cf. Ath.1.25e, Cod.Just.1.2.17.
3. of persons, rise out of difficulties, breathe again, Hdt.5.91, X.Oec.11.5; “τὰ τῶν Καρχηδονίων ἀνέκυψε” Plb.1.55.1, cf. D.Chr.13.35; “ἀπὸ τῶν μυχῶν τοῦ σώματος” Porph.Marc.6.

 

καὶ ἀτεχνῶς ἐπὶ τοῦ νώτου γενομένῳ φῶς τε λαμπρότερον φαίνεται

and upon the back being light light and radiance appears

 

καὶ ἥλιος καθαρώτερος καὶ ἄστρα διαυγέστερα

and sun more pure and stars radiant

 

διαυγ-ής , ές,

A.translucent, of water, Arist. Mir.840b34, AP9.227 (Bianor), 277 (Antiphil.): Sup., v.l. in Arist. Mu.397a16; “τὰ ὑγρὰ τῶν ὀφθαλμῶν -έστατα” Alex.Aphr.Pr.1.68, cf. Ecphant. ap. Stob.4.7.64; radiant, of metal, Call.Lav.Pall.21; of stars, A.R.2.1104; of gems, “ἀμέθυστος” AP5.204; “ὀφθαλμοί” Aristaenet.1.1.

 

καὶ τὸ πᾶν ἡμέρα καὶ χρυσοῦν τὸ δάπεδον.

And all the day and gold the ground

 

δάπεδον [ᾰ], τό, (prob. for ζά-πεδον, i.e. διάπεδον, v. ζα-) any level surface: the floor of a chamber, Il., Hdt., Xen.; also, γῆς δάπεδον Ar.; and absol. the ground, Od.: pl. plains, Pind., Eur.

 

H.G. Liddell, A Lexicon: Abridged from Liddell and Scott’s Greek-English Lexicon (Oak Harbor, WA: Logos Research Systems, Inc., 1996), 174.

 

 

εἰσιόντων δὲ πρῶτα μὲν οἰκοῦσιν αἱ Ὧραι·

entering first into the dwalling the hours

 

πυλωροῦσι γάρ·

for [they are] gates

 

ἔπειτα δʼ ἡ Ἶρις καὶ ὁ Ἑρμῆς ὄντες ὑπηρέται καὶ ἀγγελιαφόροι τοῦ Διός,

then Iris and Hermes being servants and messanger bearers of Zeus

 

ἑξῆς δὲ τοῦ Ἡφαίστου τὸ χαλκεῖον ἀνάμεστον ἁπάσης τέχνης,

then next of Hephaestus’s the bronze place (smithy) in the middle of all the contrivances

 

 

μετὰ δὲ αἱ τῶν θεῶν οἰκίαι καὶ τοῦ Διὸς τὰ βασίλεια,

and after the houses of all the gods of Zeus the palace

 

 

ταῦτα πάντα περικαλλῆ τοῦ Ἡφαίστου κατασκευάσαντος.

These things very beautiful by Hephaestus being prepared.