Fr. 100
οὔπω Σκέλμιον ἔργον ἐύξοον, ἀλλ' ἐπὶ τεθμόν
δηναιὸν γλυφάνων ἄξοος ἦσθα σανίς·
ὧδε γὰρ ἱδρύοντο θεοὺς τότε· καὶ γὰρ Ἀθήνης
ἐν Λίνδῳ Δαναὸς λιτὸν ἔθηκεν ἕδος
notes
Fr. 100 Harder (= 100 Pf., = 203 Mass.) Eus. P.E. 3, 7, 5-8, 1,
p. 99ab
The reader is returned to Samos from Argos by an aition concerning an an aniconic statue of Hera. The statue was carved from wood brought to Samos from Argos, before the art of sculpture was known (a circumstance that connects thematically with the Telchines of the opening, who were primitive metalworkers). The fragment contains an address to the statue, thought to have been the work of Skelmis of Aegina. Skelmis’ effort was evidently compared to the statue of Athena at Lindos, dedicated by Danaus and his daughters.
vocabulary
Fr. 100
ἐυξοος -ον: well-polished
τεθμός -οῦ, ὁ: that which is laid down, law, custom (Dor. of θεσμός, ὁ)
δηναιός -ή -όν: long-lived, old, ancient
γλύφανος -ου, ὁ: a tool for carving, knife, chisel
ἄξοος -ον: unwrought, not carved
σανίς -ίδος, ἡ: a board, plank, timber, lumber
ἱδρύω: set up, found; (middle) dedicate (temples, statues, etc.)
Ἀθήνη -ης, ἡ: Athena, goddess of wisdom, warlike prowess, and skill in the arts
Λίνδος, -ου, ἡ: Lindos, an ancient city on the island of Rhodes
λιτός -ή -όν: simple, inexpensive, frugal
ἕδος -εος, τό: stool, sitting place; seated statue of a god
scholia
Fr. 100a Harder (= Diegesis IV 22-9; 1.105 Pf.) P.Mil.Vogl. I 18 col. IV 22-9 [image], Trismegistos 59371
]γι.αφ[
. . . . . . τὸ ξόα]νον τῆς Ἥρας [ἀνδρι-
αντοειδὲ]ς ἐ[γέ]νετο ἐπὶ βασιλέως
Προκ[λέους• τὸ] δὲ ξύ[λο]ν, ἐξ οὗ εἰργάσθη
5 ε. .η[. . . .].αμ̣[.]ς. .ν, ἐξ Ἄργους δέ φα-
σι[. . . . . . .]οτας ἔτι πάλαι σανιδῶ-
δες [κομι]σθῆναι κάταργον ἅτε μηδέ-
πω π[ροκ]εκοφυίας τῆς ἀγαλματομικῆς.
. . . . .
the wooden image of Hera, shaped2
like a statue when Procles was
king; the wood from which it was made
. . . was brought from Argos they say5
. . . long ago shaped like lumber,
unworked, seeing that
the art of sculpting was not yet advanced.
translation
Fr. 100
not yet Scelmis' well-polished work, but in accordance with
ancient custom you were lumber, uncarved by chisels;
for thus they set up (statues) of the gods then; for even Danaos
set up a simple statue of Athena in Lindos