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

Testimonies by Phlegon of Tralles

The Testimonies is a paradoxographical work compiled in the second century CE by Phlegon of Tralles, a freedman of the emperor Hadrian. Written in Koine Greek, the collection consists of brief accounts documenting extraordinary and supernatural events, including reports of ghosts, monstrous births, and other marvels presented as factual witness testimonies. The work exemplifies a popular literary genre of the period that catered to Roman elite interest in historical curiosities and the boundaries of the natural world. As an imperial freedman, Phlegon likely had access to extensive archives and libraries, which he mined for these sensational anecdotes. The original text does not survive intact; knowledge of it derives from four fragmentary passages preserved through citations by later authors and medieval anthologies. These fragments indicate a work that blended folklore with a pseudo-historical framework, aiming to record and authenticate the bizarre within a documented past.

Σοῦδα Φλέγων Τραλλιανός· ἀπελεύθερος τοῦ Σεβαστοῦ Καίσαρος οἱ δὲ Ἀδριανοῦ φασίν· ἱστορικός. ἔγραψεν Ὀλυμπιάδας ἐν βιβλίοις ιϛ— ἔστι δὲ μέχρι τῆς σκθ ὀλυμπιάδος τὰ πραχθέντα πανταχοῦ· τὰ δὲ αὐτὰ ἐν βιβλίοις η· Ἔκφρασιν Σικελίας· Περὶ μακροβίων καὶ θαυμασίων· Περὶ τῶν παρὰ Ῥωμαίοις ἑορτῶν βιβλία γ· Περὶ τῶν ἐν Ῥώμηι τόπων καὶ ὧν ἐπικέκληνται ὀνομάτων· Ἐπιτομὴν Ὀλυμπιονικῶν ἐν βιβλίοις β· καὶ ἄλλα.

Φώτιος ἀνεγνώσθη Φλέγοντος Τραλλιανοῦ, ἀπελευθέρου τοῦ αὐτοκράτορος Ἀδριανοῦ, Ὀλυμπιονικῶν καὶ Χρονικῶν Συναγωγή. προσφωνεῖ τὸ σύνταγμα πρὸς Ἀλκιβιάδην τινά, ὃς εἷς ἦν τῶν εἰς τὴν φυλακὴν τεταγμένων τοῦ Ἀδριανοῦ. ἄρχεται δὲ τῆς συναγωγῆς ἀπὸ τῆς πρώτης ὀλυμπιάδος, διότι τὰ πρότερα, καθὼς καὶ οἱ ἄλλοι σχεδόν τι πάντες φασίν, οὐκ ἔτυχεν ὑπό τινος ἀκριβοῦς καὶ ἀληθοῦς ἀναγραφῆς, ἀλλὰ ἄλλο τι ἄλλος τῶν ἐπιτυχόντων καὶ οὐ συμφώνως ἔγραψαν, ὅσοις καὶ γράψαι πεφιλοτίμηται. τὴν μὲν οὖν ἀρχὴν τοῦ συγγράμματος, ὥσπερ ἔφημεν, ἀπὸ τῆς πρώτης ὀλυμπιάδος ποιεῖται· κάτεισι δέ, ὡς αὐτός φησι, μέχρι τῶν Ἀδριανοῦ χρόνων. ἐμοὶ δὲ ἀνεγνώσθη μέχρι τῆς ροζ ὀλυμπιάδος ........... μέχρι μὲν οὖν ταύτης μοι τῆς ὀλυμπιάδος ἐν λόγοις πέντε ἡ ἀνάγνωσις γέγονεν.

ἔστι δὲ τὴν φράσιν οὔτε λίαν χαμαιπετὴς οὔτε τὸν Ἀττικὸν ἐς τὸ ἀκριβὲς διασώζων χαρακτῆρα. ἄλλως τε δὴ καὶ ἡ περὶ τὰς ὀλυμπιάδας καὶ τὰ ἐν αὐταῖς τῶν ἀγωνισμάτων ὀνόματα καὶ πράξεις καὶ ἡ περὶ τοὺς χρησμοὺς ἄκαιρος φιλοπονία τε καὶ φιλοτιμία, εἰς κόρον ἀπάγουσα τὸν ἀκροατὴν καὶ μηδὲν ἄλλο τῶν ἐν τῶι λόγωι σχεδόν τι προκύπτειν συγχωροῦσα, ἀηδῆ τε τὸν λόγον δεικνύει καὶ χάριτος οὐδὲν ἔχειν παρατίθησι. χρησμοῖς δὲ παντοίοις ἐς ὑπερβολήν ἐστι κεχρημένος.