Living Poets

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Adiungamus philosophis doctissimum hominem, poetam quidem divinum Sophoclem, qui, cum ex aede Herculis patera aurea gravis subrepta esset, in somniis vidit ipsum deum dicentem qui id fecisset. quod semel ille iterumque neglexit. Ubi idem saepius, ascendit in Arium pagum, detulit rem; Areopagitae comprehendi iubent eum qui a Sophocle erat nominatus; is quaestione adhibita confessus est pateramque rettulit. Quo facto fanum illud Indicis Herculis nominatum est.

Let us add to the philosophers that most learned man, indeed a divine poet, Sophocles. When a heavy gold libation dish had been stolen from the temple of Hercules, he had a dream vision in which the god himself told him who had done the deed. He ignored the dream a first and then a second time. But when it kept recurring, he went up to the Areopagus and laid a charge. The judges ordered that the man whom Sophocles had named be arrested. When questioned, he confessed and returned the dish. As a result, that temple was dedicated to Hercules ‘the Revealer’.

Relevant guides	Sophocles