Diotimos Library · Greek Antiquity Collection · Bilingual Edition
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Facing Pages · Branch 685 of 879
Book I Chapter 49 · I.49.50.8–I.49.50.10
Ancient Greek
p. 136650.8
Ταῦτ᾽ εἰπὼν περὶ τοῦ Ἀχέροντος Ἀπολλόδωρος ἐπάγει περὶ τῆς Στυγὸς αὐταῖς λέξεσι τάδε· “Στύγα δὲ δεινήν τινα καὶ φοβερὰν ὑποστησάμενοι δαίμονα, θεῶν ὅρκον, ἐν Ἅιδου τε ταύτην κατῴκισαν καὶ τῆς προσηγορίας ταύτης ἠξίωσαν ἀπὸ τοῦ στυγνάζειν τοῖς πένθεσι καὶ στύγεσθαι τὰ ἐν Ἅιδου, ὅρκον δὲ τῶν θεῶν δι᾽ ἐναντιότητα· ἡ μὲν γὰρ τῶν ὄντων τε καὶ ζώντων φθαρτικὴν ἔχει δύναμιν ὅσον ἐφ᾽ ἑαυτῇ, οἱ δὲ τῇ τε προαιρέσει καὶ τῷ τρόπῳ διεστήκασι.”
50.9
Τοσαῦτα περὶ τῆς Στυγὸς εἰπὼν ἐπάγει· “Κωκυτόν δὲ ποταμὸν ἀνέπλασαν ἀπὸ τοῦ κωκύειν, ὅς ἐστι Στυγὸς καὶ στυγνάσεως ἀπορρώξ. Τοιούτου δέ ἐστι γένους καὶ ὁ Πυριφλεγέθων. Εἴρηται γὰρ ἀπὸ τοῦ πυρὶ φλέγεσθαι τοὺς τελευτῶντας, ὡς Ὅμηρός φησι·
50.10
Stobaeus, Volume I: Book I Chapter 49
p. 136750.8 · Styx and the gods’ oath
After saying this about Acheron, Apollodorus adds the following about Styx in these very words: “They conceived Styx as a terrible and fearsome divine power, the gods’ oath. They settled her in Hades and deemed her worthy of this name because people are gloomy with grief and the things in Hades are hated. She is the gods’ oath because of an opposition: she possesses, so far as lies in her, a power destructive of existing and living things, whereas the gods stand apart from this in both their purpose and their character.”1644
50.9 · Cocytus and Pyriphlegethon
Having said this much about Styx, he adds: “They fashioned the river Cocytus from wailing; it is a branch of Styx and gloom. Pyriphlegethon too is of this kind. For its name comes from the dead being burned with fire, as Homer says:1645
50.10 · Homer: the soul flies away like a dream
For sinews no longer hold flesh and bones together; the fierce force of blazing fire subdues them as soon as life has left the white bones, and the soul, flying away like a dream, flutters off.1646
Socrates
Reading Stobaeus, Volume I · Book I Chapter 49 · I.49.50.8–I.49.50.10
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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.
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.