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Book I Chapter 49 · I.49.54.7–I.49.54.8
Ancient Greek
p. 140054.7
Ἀποστέλλονται δὲ εἰς τοὺς ἀτμοὺς τοῦ αἵματος ὑπὸ Περσεφόνης· ἀδύνατον γὰρ ἐλθεῖν χωρὶς τοῦ πεμφθῆναι πρὸς τῶν ἐφεστώτων. Διὸ καὶ ἐπεύχεται
ἰφθίμῳ τ᾽ Ἀίδῃ καὶ ἐπαινῇ Περσεφονείῃ.54.8
Ἡ δὲ ἀποστέλλει πρώτας τὰς γυναῖκας, ὡς ἂν πλησίον οἰκούσας τοῦ Ἀχέροντος καὶ ἡττωμένας τῶν ἀνδρικῶν ψυχῶν. Αἱ γὰρ δὴ τῶν ἀνδρῶν ἐν τῷ ἀκραιφνεῖ σκότῳ διάγουσι, πόρρω τοῦ ποταμοῦ καὶ τῶν κολαζομένων οὖσαι. Ὧν πάντων πολλῆς θεοσοφίας γεμόντων ἡμεῖς ἐπιτρέχομεν, διὰ τὸ μὴ νῦν περὶ τούτων εἶναι τὴν πρόθεσιν, χάριν δὲ καὶ τῆς κατὰ τὴν Στύγα ἐξηγήσεως ἀναγκαίως παρειλῆφθαι.
Stobaeus, Volume I: Book I Chapter 49
p. 140154.7 · Souls sent by Persephone
They are sent to the vapors of the blood by Persephone, for it is impossible for them to come without being sent by those who preside over them. For this reason he also prays
to mighty Hades and dread Persephone.1681
54.8 · The order of appearances and the argument’s limit
She sends the women first, since they dwell near Acheron and are inferior to the souls of men. For the souls of men dwell in unmixed darkness, far from the river and from those being punished. All these matters are full of divine wisdom, but we pass over them quickly: they are not our present subject, and have necessarily been brought in for the sake of the interpretation of Styx.1682
Socrates
Reading Stobaeus, Volume I · Book I Chapter 49 · I.49.54.7–I.49.54.8
Ask about a concept, passage, contradiction, or connection.
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.
About Diotimos Editions
Diotimos Editions prepared this independent English translation directly from the Greek. Prose and verse retain their distinct forms, with mixed passages preserving their quoted verse. Every passage is paired with its Greek and identified by the edition’s reference number. All 2,117 notes remain linked to their passages, with continuous numbering across the introduction and text.
Rights
Stobaeus’s ancient Greek work and Wachsmuth’s 1884 printing are in the public domain. The independent English translation, introduction, and explanatory notes are © 2026 Diotimos Editions. The complete supplied edition is available as PDF, EPUB, Word, and Markdown. The PDF retains the fixed page locations used by the companion lexicon.