The Greek Questions (5-9)

Who are the good among the Arcadians and the Spartans?

When the Spartans had come to terms with the Tegeans, they made a treaty and set up in common a pillar by the Alpheius. On this, among other matters, was inscribed: The Messenians must be expelled from the country; it shall not be lawful to make men good. [*] Aristotle,[*] then, in explaining this, states that it means that no one shall be put

Who is he that selects barley (krithologos) among the Opuntians?

For sacrifices of very ancient origin most of the Greeks used to employ barley, which the citizens offered as first-fruits of the harvest. Accordingly they called the officer who presided at the sacrifices and brought these first-fruits the Barley-selector. They had two priests: one appointed for sacrifices to the gods, the other for sacrifices to the spirits.

What were the floating clouds?

They used to call clouds floating which particularly threatened rain and were in constant motion, as Theophrastus has stated in the fourth book of his Meteorology. The passage reads thus: Since also these floating clouds and these compact clouds, which are immovable and very white in colour, exhibit a certain difference of substance which is filled neither with water nor with wind.

Who is the near-dweller (platioiketas) among the Boeotians?

This is the name they give in the Aeolian dialect to persons who dwell in the next house or occupy adjoining property, signifying that they hold land near at hand. I shall add one phrase from the Edict of the Guardians of the Law, although there are several more...[*]

Who is the Consecrator (hosioter) among the Delphians and why do they call one of the months Bysios?

They call the victim that is sacrificed Consecrator whenever an Holy One[*] is appointed. There are five Holy Ones, who hold office for life; they do a great many things with the co-operation of the oracle-interpreters and with them take part in the holy rites, since they are thought to have descended from Deucalion.

The month Bysios, as many think, is the month of growth (physios); for it begins the spring and during it many plants spring up and come into bloom. But this is not the truth of the matter, for Delphians do not use b in place of ph (as Macedonians do who say Bilip and balacros and Beronicê), but in place of p; thus they naturally say broceed for proceed and bainful for painful. Accordingly Bysios is pysios, the month of oracular inquiry, in which men ask questions and obtain responses from the god; for this is the legitimate and traditional procedure. In this month, then, oracles used to be given and the seventh day of this month they consider the birthday of the god.[*] They call this day the day of Many Utterances (Polyphthoös) not because they then bake cakes (phthoïs),[*] but because it is a day when many inquire of the god and receive many oracles. For only recently have monthly oracles been given out to inquirers; formerly the prophetic priestess was wont to give responses but once a year on this day, as Callisthenes[*] and Anaxandrides have recorded.