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St Photius the Great, tr. Freese, 1920; selections

Codex 97: Phlegon of Tralles, Collection of Chronicles and List of Olympian Victors

Read the Collection of Chronicles and List of Olympian Victors by Phlegon¹ of Tralles, a freedman of the emperor Hadrian. The work is dedicated to a certain Alcibiades, one of the emperor’s bodyguards. It begins with the 1st Olympiad,² because, as nearly all other writers affirm, there are no careful or accurate accounts of preceding periods, but different writers make different statements, and even those who have been eager to obtain the credit of writing about them contradict themselves. For this reason, as we have said, the author begins with the 1st Olympiad, and goes down, as he himself says, to the times of Hadrian.

I have read as far as the 177th Olympiad, in which Hecatomnus of Miletus was victor in the stadium³ and diaulos, and in the race of men in armour three times; Hypsicles the Sicyonian and Gaius of Rome in the long race; Aristonymidas of Cos in the pentathlum;⁴ Isidore of Alexandria in wrestling; Aptotus in the periodos;⁵ Atyanas the son of Hippocrates, a native of Adramyttium, in boxing; Sphodrias the Sicyonian in the pancratium.⁶ Among the youths Sosigenes of Asia in the race; Apollonius of Cyparissus in the wrestling-match; Sotericus of Elis in the boxing-match; Galas of Elis in the pancratium; Hecatomnus of Miletus in the armoured race (he was crowned three times in the same day. in the stadium, the diaulos, and the armoured race); Aristolochus of Elis in the four-horsed chariot race; Hagemon of Elis with his race-horse; Hellanicus of Elis with his pair of horses, and his four-horsed chariot; Cletias of Elis with his pair; and Callippus of Pelion with his race-horse.

At that time Lucullus⁷ was besieging Amisus,⁸ but having left Murena⁹ with two legions to carry on the siege, he himself set out with three others against the territory of the Cabiri, where he went into winter quarters. He also ordered Hadrian to make war against Mithradates, who was defeated. An earthquake in Rome did much damage, and many other events happened during this Olympiad. In its third year the population according to the census was 910,000. Sinatruces, king of the Parthians, was succeeded by Phraates¹⁰ Theos, and Phaedrus the Epicurean¹¹ by Patron. Virgilius Maro was born on the 15th of October in this year. In the fourth year of this Olympiad Tigranes and Mithradates, having collected an army of 40,000 foot and 30,000 horse, who were drawn up in the Roman order of battle, engaged Lucullus and were defeated; Tigranes lost 5000 killed, a large number of prisoners, besides a promiscuous rabble. Catulus¹² dedicated the Capitol at Rome. Metellus¹³ set out against Crete with three legions and occupied the island; having defeated Laosthenes and shut up the inhabitants within their walls, he was rewarded with the title of imperator. The pirate Athenodorus enslaved the people of Delos and insulted the images of the so-called gods; but Gaius Triarius having repaired the damaged parts of the city, fortified the island.

We have read five books as far as this Olympiad. The author’s style, though not too mean and ordinary, does not always preserve the Attic character. But his ill-timed, if laborious, diligence in reckoning the Olympiads, his lists of names of the victors and their achievements, and his accounts of the oracles, not only disgust the reader, since they do not allow a glimpse of anything else to appear, but also make the language disagreeable and rob it of all charm. He also attaches undue importance to oracles of all kinds.

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