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Book I Chapter 9 · I.9.12–I.9.13
Ancient Greek
p. 27812 ⟨Τοῦ αὐτοῦ⟩
Ἔφη Φαῖδρον ἀρξάμενον ἐνθένδε ποθὲν λέγειν, ὅτι μέγας θεὸς εἴη ὁ Ἔρως καὶ θαυμαστὸς ἐν ἀνθρώποις τε καὶ θεοῖς, πολλαχῇ μὲν καὶ ἄλλῃ, οὐχ ἥκιστα δὲ κατὰ τὴν γένεσιν. Τὸ γὰρ ἐν τοῖς πρεσβυτάτοις εἶναι τῶν θεῶν τίμιον, ἦ δ’ ὅς· τεκμήριον δὲ τούτου· γοναὶ γὰρ Ἔρωτος οὔτ’ εἰσὶν οὔτε λέγονται ὑπ’ οὐδενὸς οὔτε ἰδιώτου οὔτε ποιητοῦ, ἀλλὰ Ἡσίοδος πρῶτον μὲν χάος φησὶ γίγνεσθαι, μετὰ τὸ χάος δύο τούτω γενέσθαι, Γῆν τε καὶ Ἔρωτα. Ἡσιόδῳ δὲ καὶ Ἀκουσίλεως ξύμφησιν ἐν τοῖς πρεσβυτάτοις εἶναι· πρεσβύτατός τε ὢν μεγίστων ἀγαθῶν ἡμῖν αἴτιός ἐστιν.
13 Ἐν ταὐτῷ
Πάντες γὰρ ἴσμεν ὅτι οὐκ ἔστιν ἄνευ Ἔρωτος Ἀφροδίτη. Μιᾶς μὲν οὔσης εἷς ἂν ἦν Ἔρως· ἐπεὶ δὲ δύο ἐστόν, δύο ἀνάγκη καὶ Ἔρωτας εἶναι. Πῶς δ’ οὐ δύο τὰ θεά; ἡ μὲν γέ που πρεσβυτέρα καὶ ἀμήτωρ Οὐρανοῦ θυγάτηρ, ἣν δὴ καὶ οὐρανίαν ἐπονομάζομεν, ἡ δὲ νεωτέρα Διὸς καὶ Διώνης, ἣν δὴ πάνδημον καλοῦμεν. ἀναγκαῖον δὴ καὶ Ἔρωτα τὸν μὲν τῇ ἑτέρᾳ ξυνεργὸν πάνδημον ὀρθῶς καλεῖσθαι, τὸν δὲ οὐράνιον.
Stobaeus, Volume I: Book I Chapter 9
p. 27912 ⟨The same author, Symposium (178a-c)⟩
He said that Phaedrus began more or less at this point: Love was a great god, wonderful among humans and gods in many other respects, but especially in his origin. “For being among the most ancient gods is an honor,” he said. “Here is the evidence: Love has no parents, nor does anyone, whether an ordinary person or a poet, name any. Hesiod says that Chaos came to be first, and after Chaos these two, Earth and Love. Acusilaus too agrees with Hesiod that Love is among the most ancient. And being most ancient, he is the cause of the greatest blessings for us.”314
13 In the same work (180d-e)
We all know that Aphrodite does not exist without Love. If there were one Aphrodite, there would be one Love; but since there are two, there must also be two Loves. How could there fail to be two goddesses? The elder is motherless, a daughter of Uranus, whom we accordingly call Heavenly; the younger is the daughter of Zeus and Dione, whom we call Common. So the Love who assists the latter must rightly be called Common, and the other Heavenly.315
Socrates
Reading Stobaeus, Volume I · Book I Chapter 9 · I.9.12–I.9.13
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Socrates will begin with this book and its sources.About This Reading Edition
Stobaeus gathered Greek philosophy and poetry for his son Septimius. Volume I presents the dedication testimony, On Arithmetic, Book I through chapter 60, and the ancient contents of all four books. This complete bilingual edition includes an introduction and 2,117 explanatory notes.
Historical Text and Translation
The Greek follows Curt Wachsmuth’s 1884 Volume I, checked against the supplied scan. Gaps, lost-chapter headings, and uncertain attributions remain visible. Chapter 2 includes a labeled proposed reconstruction. The appendix outlines Books I–IV; the full texts of Books II–IV are outside this volume. Reader pages preserve the companion PDF’s numbering.
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