Philostratus, Lives of the Sophists 1.12 Prodicus (Patreon)

Lucius Flavius Philostratus was a Greek sophist in the 2cAD-3cAD, and wrote his Lives of the Sophists about the various famous wise men of history, including philosophers, sophists, and rhetoricians.  This series will contain excerpts from the work.

In these recordings, I have made the rather peculiar decision to use the Classical Attic Pronunciation, which would have been many centuries removed from the time of Philostratus, who doubtlessly would have spoken in something like one of the variants of Lucian Pronunciation: https://youtu.be/dQBpwKWnZAo

Nevertheless, I have enjoyed sharping my Classical Attic Pronunciation again, and in any case this is demostrative proof that one may use any pronunciation convention one may wish to access ancient literature, and that such anachronisms are tolerable so long as we are aware of the historical incongruity.

Macronized text with iota-adscripts:

1.12

Προδίκου δὲ τοῦ Κείου ὄνομα τοσοῦτον ἐπὶ σοφίᾱι ἐγένετο, ὡς καὶ τὸν Γρύλλου Ξενοφῶντα ἐν Βοιωτοῖς δεθέντα ἀκροᾶσθαι διαλεγομένου, καθιστάντα ἐγγυητὴν τοῦ σώματος. Πρεσβεύων δὲ παρὰ Ἀθηναίους παρελθὼν ἐς τὸ βουλευτήριον ἱκανώτατος ἔδοξεν ἀνθρώπων, καίτοι δυσήκοον καὶ βαρὺ φθεγγόμενος.

Ἀνίχνευε δὲ οὗτος τοὺς εὐπατρίδας τῶν νέων καὶ τοὺς ἐκ τῶν βαθέων οἴκων, ὡς καὶ προξένους ἐκτῆσθαι ταύτης τῆς θήρᾱς, χρημάτων τε γὰρ ἥττων ἐτύγχανε καὶ ἡδοναῖς ἐδεδώκει. Τὴν δὲ Ἡρακλέους αἵρεσιν τὸν τοῦ Προδίκου λόγον οὗ κατ᾽ ἀρχᾱ̀ς ἐπεμνήσθην, οὐδὲ Ξενοφῶν ἀπηξίωσε μὴ οὐχῑ̀ ἑρμηνεῦσαι. Καὶ τί ἂν χαρακτηρίζοιμεν τὴν τοῦ Προδίκου γλῶτταν, Ξενοφῶντος αὐτὴν ἱκανῶς ὑπογράφοντος;