Chapter XXIV. That, Being Unable to Give Any Help in the Misfortunes of War, They Used to Quibble and Deceive Their Suppliants by Ambiguous Responses

[OENOMAUS] ‘PERHAPS, however, such answers as I have described are those of an intentional mischief-maker; find we ought rather to bring forward for judgement his other answers which were given to the Athenians. So then let the responses to the Athenians be read: [1]

“Wretches, why sit ye here? Fly, fly to the ends of creation, (Quitting your homes, and the crags which your city crowns with her circlet.)Neither the head, nor the body is firm in its place, nor at bottom Firm the feet, nor the hands (nor resteth the middle uninjured. All----all ruined and lost).Since fire and impetuous Ares, Speeding along in a Syrian chariot, hastes to destroy her. Not alone shalt thou suffer; full many the towers he will level, Many the shrines of the gods he will give to a fiery destruction. Even now they stand with dark sweat horribly dripping, Trembling and quaking for fear.”

‘Lo! there you have the oracle that was given to the Athenians. Is there perchance anything prophetic in it? “Yes, surely,” some one will say, “for you had so much confidence in him yourself: and this will be known, if you add what was further said to them when they besought him to help them.” So then, let it be added: [2]

“Pallas has not been able to soften the lord of Olympus, Though she has often prayed him, (and urged him with excellent counsel).Yet once more I address thee in words than adamant firmer When the foe shall have taken (whatever the limit of Cecrops Holds within it, and all which divine Cithaeron shelters),Then far-seeing Zeus grants this to the prayers of Athene; Safe shall the wooden wall continue for thee and thy children; Wait not the tramp of the horse, not the footmen mightily moving Over the land, but turn your back to the foe, and retire ye. Yet shall a day arrive when ye shall meet him in battle. Holy Salamis, thou shalt destroy the offspring of women, When men scatter the seed, or when they gather the harvest.”

‘Thy Zeus is worthy of himself, O son of Zeus! Thy Athena also is worthy of Athena, O brother of Athena! And this eagerness and counter-eagerness well become the father and the daughter, or rather the gods in general! And this ruler of Olympus, too weak to destroy this one city without bringing against it that countless host from Susa, was forsooth a mighty god, having dominion over the world, and persuasive withal, as moving so many nations from Asia into Europe, but yet unable in Europe to overthrow one single city. [3]

‘And thou too, the prophet so bold and so ready also to run needless risks for nothing, dost thou not cry pity? (so the men Blight say, on whose behalf “Pallas has not been able to soften the lord of Olympus”). Or was it that Zeus was wroth not with the men, but with the stones and timber? And then wast thou to save the men, and he to burn the buildings with foreign fire? Because he had at the moment no thunderbolt?

‘Or rather are we somewhat bold, and foolhardy in forbidding you gods to talk such nonsense? But how knewest thou, O prophet, that

“Holy Salamis shall destroy the offspring of women,”

but didst not further know whether it would be,

“When men scatter the seed, or when they gather the harvest”?

‘And how knewest thou not even this, that a man might say that “the offspring of women” were either those of his own kindred, or might say that they were “the enemies,” if he scented the evil device?

‘But we must wait for what will happen, for happen one or other of these must. For in truth “Salamis the holy” would not have been inappropriate even in case of defeat, as being called by such an epithet in compassion: and the naval battle that was to take place either

“When men scatter the seed, or when they gather the harvest,”

is beplastered with poetical bombast, in order that, by this artifice, the prediction might escape detection, and it might not be clearly seen at the moment, that a naval battle does not take place in winter.

‘Now too it is not difficult to see the stage-play, and the wheeling in of the gods, the one beseeching and the other refusing to yield, so useful for the coming event, and the unexpected turn of the war, the one if they should be saved, the other if they should be destroyed. For if they should be saved, behold! the prayers of Pallas have been foreshown, which were able to turn the anger of Zeus: or if not, even this result is not unprovided for by the prophet; for “Pallas is not able to soften Zeus.” And to meet half-evil fortunes the artist mixed the oracle, as though Zeus had on the one hand fulfilled his own purpose, but on the other hand had not disregarded the request of his daughter.

‘And as to the “towers,” it might perhaps have been false that many would be destroyed, if they had attacked them with reeds instead of iron and fire, though in this case even with reeds so great an army could at all events have accomplished something. “But it was I,” says he, “who discovered the wooden wall which alone could not be destroyed.” Yes, it was thy advice, but not a prophecy, not unlike that “Haste, oh! haste thee away, nor blush to behave like a coward.”

‘He therefore who solved that riddle was as good as thyself in discerning that the city of the Athenians was the Persian’s avowed cause for the invasion, and the whole expedition was directed against this city first and chiefly. For even I myself, who am no prophet, should have discerned this, and bidden not only the Lydian king, but also the Athenians to turn their backs and flee. For “Yet shall a day arrive when ye shall meet him in battle,” for there cometh on “the tramp of the horse and the footmen mightily moving.” Also that they must flee in ships, and not on the mainland: for it would have been ridiculous, as they had ships, and dwelt by the sea, not to have collected their goods in all haste, and put on board all the provisions they had, and made their escape, giving over the land to those who chose to take it.’

These then were the answers given to the Athenians: but those given to the Lacedaemonians were utterly weak and ridiculous. For either, says he, the whole city shall be besieged, or it shall mourn the loss of the king. From every circumstance, it was natural for any one to guess this, that either one or the other would happen.

But surely it was no divination of a god to use such ambiguity in ignorance of the future, when he ought to have given help, and appeared opportunely as saviour of the Greeks, and rather to have procured the victory over the enemies and barbarians for the Greeks, as his own friends. And if he had not power to do this, he should at least have provided that they should suffer no harm, and not be conquered. But even this he failed to do, nay, he did not even know how the circumstances of their defeat would turn out. Wherefore on this point also hear how his censure is expressed.