But in regard to my present point, Ι am most anxious to make it absolutely clear that Moses is not οnly older than Homer but is older even than the writers before him: Linos, Philammon, Thamyris, Amphion, Orpheus, Mousaios, Demodokos, Phemios, Sibyl, Epimenides the Cretan who came to Sparta, Aristaios the Prokonnesian who wrote the Arimaspeia, and Asbolos the Centaur, and Isatis, Drymon and Euklos the Cypriοt, and Horos the Samian, and Pronapides the Athenian.
Author: Tatian
Title of Work: Address to the Greeks
Location in Work: 41.1
Date of Work: c. 160 CE
Original Language: Greek (Koine)
Original Text:
τὸ δὲ νῦν συνέχον σπευστέον μετὰ πάσης ἀκριβείας σαφηνίζειν ὡς οὐχ Ὁμήρου μόνον πρεσβύτερός ἐστιν ὁ Μωυσῆς, ἔτι δὲ καὶ τῶν πρὸ αὐτοῦ συγγραφέων, Λίνου, Φιλάμμωνος, Θαμύριδος, Ἀμφίονος, Ὀρφέως, Μουσαίου, Δημοδόκου, Φημίου, Σιβύλλης, Ἐπιμενίδου τοῦ Κρητός ὅστις εἰς τὴν Σπάρτην ἀφίκετο, Ἀρισταίου τοῦ Προκοννησίου τοῦ τὰ Ἀριμάσπια συγγραψαντος, Ἀσβόλου τε τοῦ Κενταύρου καὶ Ἰσάτιδος Δρύμωνός τε καὶ Εὔκλου τοῦ Κυπρίου καὶ Ὥρου τοῦ Σαμίου καὶ Προναπίδου τοῦ Ἀθηναίου.
Reference Edition: Whittaker, Tatian.
Translation Source: Whittaker, Tatian, revised.
Edition Notes: Since Isatis is unknown, Whittaker and some other editions restore Ἰσάτιδος (in all major mss.) to Βάκιδος, i.e. Bakis.
Source of Date of Work: Hunt, Tatian, 3.
Commentary:
Only a handful of the names on Tatian’s list of Greek writers older than Homer are known to have been credited with authoring specific circulating texts. Most were poet-singer characters who figured in stories set in the heroic age.
Epimenides was often mentioned together with Aristeas by Roman-era writers, including Pliny the elder, Apollonios the paradoxographer, Maximus of Tyre (twice), Iamblichos of Chalkis, Proklos of Lykia, Clement of Alexandria and Claudianus Mamertus. Epimenides’ life was usually set in the archaic period, the main source for which is a biography by Diogenes Laertios (1.10). For testimonies and fragments of writings attributed to him see BNJ Epimenides von Kreta (457) and DK Epimenides (3).
Mousaios was credited with writing a poem in which he, apparently as first-person narrator, received the ability to fly from Boreas, the god of the north wind, according to Pausanias (1.22.7), who did not believe Mousaios was the real author. For testimonies and fragments of writings attributed to him see DK Musaios (2).
A verbatim copy of this text appears in Eusebios, Preparation for the Gospel (10.11.27).
Concordance: EGEP Aristeas T18; BNJ Aristeas (35) T3; EGF Aristeas T18; PEG Aristeas T21; FGrH Aristeas (35) T1bβ