Artemis of Leucas

Fr. 31g Harder (= 31b-e Diegesis, 2, 110 sq. Pf.)  P.Oxy. 2263 [image], Trismegistos 59402

    Τὼ]ς μὲν ἔφη• τὰς δ' εἶθαρ ἐμὸς πά-

       λιν εἴρετο θυμός        τῆς ἐν Λευ-

       καδίᾳ Ἀρτέμιδος τὸ ξόανον

       ἐ]πὶ τῆς κεφαλῆς θυείαν ἔ-

5    χει δι' αἰτίαν ταύτην• Ἠπει-

       ρῶται τ[.]ν.[.].η.[.]. . .η[.]. . .

       κατατρέχοντες τὴν Λευκά-

       δα ἐσύλων. ἐλθόντες δὲ καὶ

       εἰς τὸ τῆς Ἀρτέμιδος ἱερὸν εὗ-

10   ρον τὴν θεὸν ἐστεμμένην

       χρυσῷ στεφάνῳ• τοῦτον ἐπι-

       χλευάσαντες ἀφεῖλον καὶ

       τὴν θυείαν, ἐν ᾗ σκόρδα τρί-

       ψαντες ἔφαγον, τῇ θεῷ ἐπέ-

15   θηκαν. ἐ̣πι.ν.[.]. . . δ' οἱ Λευ-

       κάδι[οι]. . θ' ἡμ[έ]ρα[ν ἕ]τερον

       κατεσκεύασαν στέφανον καὶ

       ἀντὶ τῆς θυεία[ς] ἔθηκαν, ἀπο-

       πεσόντα δ' αὐτὸν προσήλω-

20   σαν τῷ ξοάνῳ. πάλιν δὲ με-

       θ' ἡμέ[ρας] τρεῖς ἐπιτιθεμέ-

       νου κα[ὶ] . . με[ί]να[ν]το[ς.].ης

 

Thus she spoke and at once my heart

asked again       The statue of

Artemis in Leucas

has a mortar on its head

for the following reason. The5

Epirotes . . .

overran Leucas and

looted it. And coming

to the temple of Artemis,

they found that the goddess was crowned10

with a golden wreath. Jeering, they took this

away and placed on the goddess

the mortar, in which they had

crushed garlic before

eating. . .The Leucadians15

made another

wreath and put it

on instead of the mortar and

when it had fallen off they nailed it

onto the statue. When20

after three days it again

was put on and...