Benchmarks

Stavros Kouloumentas/Prodicus on the rise of civilization (handout)/30 April 2016

T1. [τοὺς ὑ]πὸ [τ]ῶν ἀνθρώπων νομιζομένους θεοὺς οὔτ᾽ εἶναί φησιν οὔτ᾽ εἰδέναι, τοὺς δὲ καρποὺς καὶ πάνθ᾽ ὅλως τὰ χρήσιμα πρ[ὸς τὸν βίον τοὺς ἀρ[χαίο]ὺς ἀγα[σθέντας ἐκθειάσαι] (PHerc. 1428, fr. 19; not in DK).

[sc. Prodicus] says that the gods recognized by humans neither exist nor have knowledge, but the ancients out of admiration deified the fruits of the earth and virtually everything that contributed to their livelihood.

T2. Περσα[ίος δὲ] δῆλός ἐστιν [ἀναιρῶν] ὄντω[ς κ]α[ὶ ἀφανίζζων τὸ δαιμόνιον ἢ μηθὲν ὑπὲρ αὐτοῦ γινώσκων, ὅταν ἐν τῷ Περὶ θεῶν μὴ [ἀπλίθανα λέγῃ φαίνεσθαι τὰ περὶ <τοῦ> τὰ τρέφοντα καὶ ὠφελοῦντα θεοὺς νενομίσθαι καὶ τετειμῆσθ[αι] πρῶτον ὑπὸ [Προ]δίκου γεγραμμένα, μ[ε]τὰ δὲ ταῦτα τοὺ[ς εὑρ]όντας ἢ τροφὰς ἢ [σ]κέπας ἢ τὰς ἄλλας τέχνας ὡς Δήμητρα καὶ Δι[όνυσον] καὶ τοὺς Διοσκούρ]ου[ς (PHerc. 1428, cols. II.28-III.13 = DK 84 B5).

It is clear that Persaeus really abrogates and demolishes the divine or knows nothing about it since, in On Gods , he says that Prodicus was not unpersuasive in writing that things which nourish and benefit humans were first considered and honoured as gods, and later the discoverers of foods, shelters and the other arts, such as Demeter, Dionysus and Dioscuri.

T3. Πρόδικος δὲ ὁ Κεῖος ἥλιον, φησί, καὶ σελήνην καὶ ποταμοὺς καὶ κρήνας καὶ καθόλου πάντα τὰ ὠφελοῦντα τὸν βίον ἡμῶν οἱ παλαιοὶ θεοὺς ἐνόμισαν διὰ τὴν ἀπ' αὐτῶν ὠφέλειαν, καθάπερ Αἰγύπτιοι τὸν Νεῖλον· καὶ διὰ τοῦτο τὸν μὲν ἄρτον Δήμητραν νομισθῆναι, τὸν δὲ οἶνον Διόνυσον, τὸ δὲ ὕδωρ Ποσειδῶνα, τὸ δὲ πῦρ Ἥφαιστον καὶ ἤδη τῶν εὐχρηστούντων ἕκαστον (S. E. Math. IX.18 = DK 84 B5).

Prodicus of Ceos says that the ancients considered as gods the sun, the moon, the rivers, the springs, and in general all the useful things for our life, because of the benefit derived from them, just as the Egyptians deify the Nile. It is for this reason that bread was called Demeter, wine Dionysus, water Poseidon, fire Hephaestus, and so on for everything that is useful.

T4. εἰ δὲ βούλει αὖ σκέψασθαι τοὺς χρηστοὺς σοφιστάς, Ἡρακλέους μὲν καὶ ἄλλων ἐπαίνους καταλογάδην συγγράφειν, ὥσπερ ὁ βέλτιστος Πρόδικος (Pl. Symp. 177b = DK 84 B1).

If you look at our best sophists, they write eulogies in prose to Heracles and the rest, such as the excellent Prodicus.

1