Precepts of Chiron
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__NOTOC__ A lekythos taken to depict Peleus (left) entrusting his son Achilles (center) to the tutelage of Chiron (right), c. 500 BCE, National Archaeological Museum of Athens The "Precepts of Chiron" ( grc, Χείρωνος ὑποθῆκαι, ) is a now fragmentary Ancient Greek literature, Greek Didacticism, didactic poem that was attributed to
Hesiod Hesiod (; grc-gre, Ἡσίοδος ''Hēsíodos'') was an ancient Greek poet generally thought to have been active between 750 and 650 BC, around the same time as Homer. He is generally regarded by western authors as 'the first written poet ...
during antiquity. The poem was presented in the voice of
Chiron In Greek mythology, Chiron ( ; also Cheiron or Kheiron; ) was held to be the superlative centaur amongst his brethren since he was called the "wisest and justest of all the centaurs". Biography Chiron was notable throughout Greek mythology ...
, the wise centaur, as he instructed a young
Achilles In Greek mythology, Achilles ( ) or Achilleus ( grc-gre, Ἀχιλλεύς) was a hero of the Trojan War, the greatest of all the Greek warriors, and the central character of Homer's '' Iliad''. He was the son of the Nereid Thetis and Pele ...
. To judge from the few fragments that are preserved in other ancient authors, the hero's lessons consisted of moral, religious and practical advice. As such, the poem shows affinities not only with the Hesiodic ''
Works and Days ''Works and Days'' ( grc, Ἔργα καὶ Ἡμέραι, Érga kaì Hēmérai)The ''Works and Days'' is sometimes called by the Latin translation of the title, ''Opera et Dies''. Common abbreviations are ''WD'' and ''Op''. for ''Opera''. is a ...
'', with which it shared its
hexameter Hexameter is a metrical line of verses consisting of six feet (a "foot" here is the pulse, or major accent, of words in an English line of poetry; in Greek and Latin a "foot" is not an accent, but describes various combinations of syllables). It w ...
verse form, but also with the gnomic
elegies An elegy is a poem of serious reflection, and in English literature usually a lament for the dead. However, according to ''The Oxford Handbook of the Elegy'', "for all of its pervasiveness ... the 'elegy' remains remarkably ill defined: sometime ...
of Theognis.. A didactic poem, "Precepts of Chiron", part of the traditional education of Achilles, was considered to be among
Hesiod Hesiod (; grc-gre, Ἡσίοδος ''Hēsíodos'') was an ancient Greek poet generally thought to have been active between 750 and 650 BC, around the same time as Homer. He is generally regarded by western authors as 'the first written poet ...
's works by some of the later Greeks. The Romanized Greek traveller of the 2nd century CE,
Pausanias Pausanias ( el, Παυσανίας) may refer to: *Pausanias of Athens, lover of the poet Agathon and a character in Plato's ''Symposium'' *Pausanias the Regent, Spartan general and regent of the 5th century BC * Pausanias of Sicily, physician of t ...
, noted a list of Hesiod's works that were shown to him, engraved on an ancient and worn leaden tablet, by the tenders of the shrine at Helicon in
Boeotia Boeotia ( ), sometimes Latinized as Boiotia or Beotia ( el, Βοιωτία; modern: ; ancient: ), formerly known as Cadmeis, is one of the regional units of Greece. It is part of the region of Central Greece. Its capital is Livadeia, and its ...
. But another, quite different tradition was upheld of Hesiod's works, Pausanias notes, which included the "Precepts of Chiron". Apparently it was among works from
Acharnae Acharnae or Acharnai (; grc, Ἀχαρναί) was a ''deme'' of ancient Athens. It was part of the phyle Oineis. Acharnae, according to Thucydides, was the largest deme in Attica. In the fourth century BCE, 22 of the 500 members of the bou ...
written in heroic hexameters and attached to the famous name of Hesiod, for Pausanias adds "Those who hold this view also say that Hesiod was taught soothsaying by the
Acharnians ''The Acharnians'' or ''Acharnians'' (Ancient Greek: ''Akharneîs''; Attic: ) is the third play — and the earliest of the eleven surviving plays — by the Athenian playwright Aristophanes. It was produced in 425 BC on behalf of the young drama ...
." Though it has been lost, fragments in heroic hexameters that survive in quotations are considered to belong to it. The common thread in the fragments, which may reflect in some degree the Acharnian image of Chiron and his teaching, is that it is expository rather than narrative, and suggests that, rather than recounting the inspiring events of archaic times as men like Nestor or
Glaucus In Greek mythology, Glaucus (; grc, Γλαῦκος, Glaûkos, glimmering) was a Greek prophetic sea-god, born mortal and turned immortal upon eating a magical herb. It was believed that he came to the rescue of sailors and fishermen in storms ...
might do, Chiron taught the primeval ways of mankind, the gods and nature, beginning with the caution "First, whenever you come to your house, offer good sacrifices to the eternal gods". Chiron in the "Precepts" considered that no child should have a literary education until he had reached the age of seven. A fragment associated with the "Precepts" concerns the span of life of the
nymph A nymph ( grc, νύμφη, nýmphē, el, script=Latn, nímfi, label= Modern Greek; , ) in ancient Greek folklore is a minor female nature deity. Different from Greek goddesses, nymphs are generally regarded as personifications of nature, are ...
s, in the form of an ancient number puzzle:
A chattering crow lives out nine generations of aged men, but a stag's life is four times a crow's, and a raven's life makes three stags old, while the
phoenix Phoenix most often refers to: * Phoenix (mythology), a legendary bird from ancient Greek folklore * Phoenix, Arizona, a city in the United States Phoenix may also refer to: Mythology Greek mythological figures * Phoenix (son of Amyntor), a ...
outlives nine ravens, but we, the rich-haired Nymphs, daughters of Zeus the aegis-holder, outlive ten phoenixes.
In human terms, Chiron advises, "Decide no suit, until you have heard both sides speak''".'' The Alexandrian critic Aristophanes of Byzantium (late 3rd-early 2nd century BCE) was the first to deny that the "Precepts of Chiron" was the work of Hesiod.Hesiod II (Evelyn-White) 1936, fr. 4.


Select editions and translations


Critical editions

* ''Hesiodi, Eumeli, Cinaethonis, Asii et Carminis Naupactii fragmenta'', Guil. Marckscheffel (ed.), Lipsiae, sumtibus Fr. Chr. Guil. Vogelii, 1840
pp. 370-1
* ''Hesiodi carmina'',
Johann Friedrich Dübner Johann Friedrich Dübner (20 December 180213 December 1867) was a German classical scholar (naturalized a Frenchman). Biography He was born in Hörselgau, near Gotha. After studying at the University of Göttingen he returned to Gotha, where fro ...
(ed.), Parisiis, editore Ambrosio Firmin Didot, 1841
p. 61
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Translations

* . (The link is to the 1st edition of 1914.) * . * .


Notes


Bibliography

* . * . * . * . * . {{Authority control Ancient Greek poems Lost poems Hesiod