eul_wid: otc-aa
DOI 10.5281/zenodo.20335421 PDFMarkdown

Testimonies by Dictys of Crete

The Testimonies are a compilation of seven brief passages from later ancient authors that mention Dictys Cretensis or his work. These assembled references serve as external evidence for the existence and reception of his Ephemeris belli Troiani, a prose account of the Trojan War. The collection is typically presented as a preface in modern editions of the Ephemeris. The passages document the narrative of the Ephemeris’s discovery in a tin box during the reign of Nero, as well as Dictys’s reception as an alternative, eyewitness source to Homeric epic, cited by later writers and scholars. They also include skeptical or referential mentions by authors such as Lucian of Samosata. The testimonia survive indirectly through the manuscript traditions of the works that cite them, including a scholion to Euripides' Troades, the Library of Photius, the Suda, and the works of Lucian; there is no independent manuscript tradition for this collection. These compiled references were crucial for authenticating the Ephemeris in antiquity and bolstered its credibility for later readers. The Latin version of the Ephemeris, supported by these testimonia, became a foundational Trojan War text for medieval Europe, profoundly influencing romance literature and historical thought.

Σοῦδα Δίκτυς· ἱστορικός. ἔγραψεν Ἐφημερίδα — ἔστι δὲ τὰ μεθʼ Ὅμηρον καταλογάδην ἐν βιβλίοις θ Ἰλιακά — Τρωικοῦ διακόσμου. οὗτος ἔγραψε τὰ περὶ τῆς ἁρπαγῆς Ἑλένης καὶ περὶ Μενελάου καὶ πάσης Ἰλιακῆς ὑποθέσεως.

Ἰωάννης ὁ Μαλάλας Ἀντιοχεύς Δίκτυς ὁ ἐκ τῆς Κρήτης ὑπεμνημάτισε μετὰ ἀληθείας τὰ προγεγραμμένα καὶ τὰ λοιπὰ πάντα τῶν ἐπὶ τὸ Ἴλιον ἐπιστρατευσάντων Ἑλλήνων· ἦν γὰρ μετὰ τοῦ Ἰδομενέως τοῦ προμάχου τῶν Δαναῶν τοῦ κατελθόντος εἰς τὸν πόλεμον ἅμα τοῖς ἄλλοις Ἀχαιοῖς. ὑπογραφεὺς γὰρ αὐτοῦ τοῦ Ἰδομενέως ἐτύγχανεν ὁ αὐτὸς Δίκτυς καὶ ἑωρακὼς ἀκριβῶς τὰ τοῦ πολέμου καὶ συγγραψάμενος, ὡς παρὼν τότε ἐν τοῖς χρόνοις ἐκείνοις μετὰ Ἑλλήνων.

Ἰωάννης ὁ Μαλάλας Ἀντιοχεύς ἅτινα καὶ ἐν ταῖς τοῦ Δίκτυος ἐμφέρεται συγγραφαῖς, ὅπερ πόνημα μετὰ πολλὰ ἔτη Ὁμήρου τελευτῆς καὶ Βεργιλλίου εὑρέθη ἐπὶ Κλαυδίου Νέρωνος βασιλέως ἐν κασσιτερίνωι κιβωτίωι.

Ἰωάννης ὁ Μαλάλας Ἀντιοχεύς τῶι δὲ ιγ ἔτει τῆς βασιλείας ... Κλαυδίου Καίσαρος ἔπαθεν ὑπὸ θεομηνίας ἡ Κρήτη νῆσος πᾶσα· ἐν οἷς χρόνοις ηὑρέθη ἐν τῶι μνήματι τοῦ Δίκτυος ἐν κασσιτερίνωι κιβωτίωι ἡ ἔκθεσις τοῦ Τρωικοῦ πολέμου μετὰ ἀληθείας παρʼ αὐτοῦ συγγραφεῖσα πᾶσα. ἔκειτο δὲ προσκέφαλα τοῦ λειψάνου τοῦ Δίκτυος· καὶ νομίσαντες τὸ αὐτὸ κιβώτιον θησαυρὸν εἶναι προσήνεγκαν αὐτὸ τῶι βασιλεῖ Κλαυδίωι· καὶ ἐκέλευσε μετὰ τὸ ἀνοῖξαι καὶ γνῶναι τί ἐστι μεταγραφῆναι αὐτὰ καὶ ἐν τῆι δημοσίαι βιβλιοθήκηι ἀποτεθῆναι αὐτά.

Ἀρέθας οὐκ ὄντων δὲ ἑτέρων ποιητῶν οὐδὲ συγγραφέων ..... ἀλλʼ αὐτὸς πρῶτος ἐπιθέμενος ὑπὲρ τούτων γράφειν ποιητὴς μὲν οὐδείς ἐστι τούτων πρὸ Ὁμήρου μεμνημένος· Δίκτυς δὲ ὄνομα Κρής, ὃς παρατυχὼν τῶι Τρωικῶι πολέμωι γράφει τε τὰ πραχθέντα ἐκεῖ χαλκοῖς πίναξι καὶ ἑαυτῶι συνθάπτει· οἳ καὶ εὑρέθησαν χρόνωι μακρῶι ὕστερον ἐπὶ Νέρωνος, ἐξ ὧν καὶ βιβλίοις κατετέθησαν συμφώνοις κατὰ πάντα Ὁμήρωι.