Necyomantia

Lucian of Samosata

Lucian, Vol. 4. Harmon, A. M., editor. London: William Heinemann, Ltd.; Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 1925.

But to return to Minos, he gave one decision by favour; for Dionysius of Sicily had been charged with many dreadful and impious crimes by Dion as prosecutor and the shadow as witness, but Aristippus of Cyrene appeared—they hold him in honour, and he has very great influence among the people of the lower world—and when Dionysius was within an ace of being chained up to the Chimera, he got him let off from the punishment by saying that many men of letters had found him obliging in the matter of money.[*](Aristippus had lived at the court of Dionysius the Younger. Among the men of letters there present were Plato, Xenocrates, Speusippos, and Aeschines the Socratic. )

Leaving the court reluctantly, we came to the place of punishment, where in all truth, my friend, there were many pitiful things to hear and to see. The sound of scourges could be heard, and therewithal the wails of those roasting on the fire; there were racks and pillories and wheels; Chimera tore and Cerberus ravened. They were being punished all together, kings, slaves, satraps, poor, rich, and beggars, and all were sorry for their excesses. Some of them we even recognized when we saw them, all

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that were recently dead. But they covered their faces and turned away, and if they so much as cast a glance at us, it was thoroughly servile and obsequious, even though they had been unimaginably oppressive and haughty in life. Poor people, however, were getting only half as much torture and resting at intervals before being punished again. Moreover, I saw all that is told of in the legends— Ixion, Sisyphus, Tantalus the Phrygian, who was certainly in a bad way,[*](A reflection (purposely bald and prosaic, in order to fetch a smile) of Homer’s χαλέπ᾽ ἄλγε' ἔχοντα (Odyssey, 11, 582). ) and earthborn Tityus— Heracles, how big he was! Indeed, he took up land enough for a farm as he lay there![*](He covered nine pelethra; Odyssey, 11,577; unfortunately we do not know how much a Homeric pelethron was. But when Athena took the measure of Ares, who could shout as loud as nine or ten thousand soldiers, it was but seven pelethra (Il. 5, 860; 21, 407). )