(1) τῷ Φάωνι βίος ἦν περὶ πλοῖον εἶναι καὶ θάλασσαν· πορθμὸς ἦν ἡ θάλασσα· ἔγκλημα δὲ οὐδὲν παρ’ οὐδενὸς ἐκομίζετο, ἐπεὶ καὶ μέτριος ἦν καὶ παρὰ τῶν ἐχόντων μόνον ἐδέχετο. (2) θαῦμα ἦν τοῦ τρόπου παρὰ τοῖς Λεσβίοις. (3) ἐπαινεῖ τὸν ἄνθρωπον ἡ θεός· Ἀφροδίτην λέγουσι τὴν θεόν· καὶ ὑποδῦσα θέαν ἀνθρώπου, γυναικὸς ἤδη γεγηρακυίας, τῷ Φάωνι διαλέγεται περὶ πλοῦ. (4) ταχὺς ἦν ἐκεῖνος καὶ διακομίσαι καὶ μηδὲν ἀπαιτῆσαι. (5) τί οὖν ἐπὶ τούτοις ἡ θεός; (6) ἀμεῖψαί φασι τὸν ἄνθρωπον, καὶ ἀμείβεται νεότητι καὶ κάλλει τὸν γέροντα. (7) οὗτος ὁ Φάων ἐστίν, ἐφ’ ᾧ τὸν ἔρωτα αὑτῆς ἡ Σαπφὼ πολλάκις ἐμελοποίησεν.
notes
Most editors consider this story a later addition. According to myth, Phaon was an old ferryman from Lesbos. One day Aphrodite, disguised as an elderly woman, asked him to ferry her across the water. Phaon kindly did so and refused to accept payment. In gratitude, Aphrodite transformed him from an old man into a beautiful youth. After this transformation, Phaon became irresistible to women. Later traditions especially connected him with Sappho, who was said to have fallen desperately in love with him and to have made him the subject of her songs.
For a fuller version of the story that Pseudo-Palaephatus is responding to, see Ovid, Heroides 15; Aelian, Varia Historia 12.18.
1
τῷ Φάωνι βίος ἦν περὶ πλοῖον εἶναι καὶ θάλασσαν: “Phaon’s livelihood was being around his boat and the sea.” Εἶναι is an epexegetic infinitive that completes the meaning of βίος. Τῷ Φάωνι is a dative of possessor.
πορθμὸς ἦν ἡ θάλασσα: “the sea [in question] was a ferry crossing.”
ἔγκλημα δὲ οὐδὲν … ἐκομίζετο: “no complaint was made [against Phaon].”
καὶ παρὰ τῶν ἐχόντων μόνον ἐδέχετο: “he only took [pay] from those having [enough money],” i.e., from those who could afford it.
2
θαῦμα ἦν τοῦ τρόπου: an objective genitive: “There was wonder at his character,” etc.
3
ὑποδῦσα θέαν ἀνθρώπου: note that the accusative noun is θέαν (“appearance”), not θεάν (“goddess”).
γυναικὸς: in apposition to ἀνθρώπου.
4
ταχὺς ἦν … καὶ διακομίσαι καὶ μηδὲν ἀπαιτῆσαι: the adjective ταχὺς takes two complementary infinitives, “he was quick both to carry her across and to ask for nothing.”
μηδὲν: dynamic/complementary infinitives are negated by μή.
5
τί οὖν ἐπὶ τούτοις ἡ θεός: Supply a verb like “do” or “react”: “Then what did the goddess [do] in response to these things?”
6
ἀμεῖψαί … ἀμείβεται: the first verb is active, “transform,” while the second verb is middle, “to repay.”
7
ἐφ’ ᾧ: “for whom.”
ἡ Σαπφὼ: Sappho’s love for Phaon was mentioned by numerous writers in antiquity; see, for example, Ovid, Heroides 15, an imaginary letter written by Sappho to Phaon.
vocabulary
1
Φάων –ωνος, ὁ Phaon (male name)
πλοῖον –ου, τό boat, vessel
πορθμός –οῦ, ὁ strait, ferry crossing
ἔγκλημα –ατος, τό complaint
μέτριος –α –ον moderate, measured
2
θαῦμα –ατος, τό wonder, amazement
Λέσβιος –α –ον from the island of Lesbos, Lesbian
3
ἐπαινέω, ἐπαινέσω, ἐπῄνεσα, ἐπῄνεκα, ἐπῄνημαι, ἐπῃνέθην to praise, eulogize, approve
Ἀφροδίτη –ης, ἡ Aphrodite
ὑποδύω, ὑποδύσομαι, ὑπέδυσα/ὑπέδυν, ὑποδέδυκα, ὑποδέδυμαι, ὑπεδύην to put on, wear
θέα –ας, ἡ appearance
γηράσκω / γηράω, γηράσομαι, ἐγήρασα, γεγήρακα, —, ἐγηράνθην to grow old
διαλέγω, διαλέξομαι, διελεξάμην, —, διείλεγμαι / διαλέλεγμαι, διελέχθην / διελέγην to converse with (+ dat.)
4
διακομίζω to carry across
ἀπαιτέω, contr. to demand
6
ἀμείβω, ἀμείψω, ἤμειψα, —, ἤμειμμαι, ἠμείφθην to change, transform (act); to repay (mid.)
νεότης –ητος, ἡ youth
κάλλος –ους, τό beauty
γέρων –οντος, ὁ old man
7
ἔρως –ωτος, ὁ love
Σαπφώ –οῦς, ἡ Sappho, the Archaic Greek poet
μελοποιέω, contr. to sing about, compose lyric poetry