τὴν Σφίγγα ταύτην ὅστις ἢ κατακρημνιεῖ,
ἢ σπίνον ποιήσει.
[897] Compare Pausanias, vii. 7, 4.
[898] Plutarch, Demetr. 24.
[899] Such is the statement of Plutarch (Demetr. 24); but it seems not in harmony with the recital of the honorary decree, passed in 272 B. C., after the death of Demochares, commemorating his merits by a statue, etc. (Plutarch, Vit. X. Oratt. p. 850). It is there recited that Demochares rendered services to Athens (fortifying and arming the city, concluding peace and alliance with the Bœotians, etc.) ἐπὶ τοῦ τετραετοῦς πολέμου, ἀνθ᾽ ὧν ἐξέπεσεν ὑπὸ τῶν καταλυσάντων τὸν δῆμον. Οἱ καταλύσαντες τὸν δῆμον cannot mean either Demetrius Poliorketes, or Stratokles. Moreover, we cannot determine when the “four years’ war”, or the alliance with the Bœotians, occurred. Neither the discussion of Mr. Clinton (Fast. H. 302 B. C., and Append. p. 380), nor the different hypothesis of Droysen, are satisfactory on this point—see Carl Müller’s discussion on the fragments of Demochares, Fragm. Hist. Gr. v. ii. p. 446.
[900] Diodor. xx. 110. παραδοὺς οὖν αὑτὸν ἄνοπλον τοῖς ἱερεῦσι, καὶ πρὸ τῆς ὡρισμένης ἡμέρας μυηθεὶς, ἀνέζευξεν ἐκ τῶν Ἀθηνῶν.
The account of this transaction in the text is taken from Diodorus, and is a simple one; a vote was passed granting special license to Demetrius, to receive the mysteries at once, though it was not the appointed season.
Plutarch (Demetr. 26) superadds other circumstances, several of which have the appearance of jest rather than reality. Pythodôrus the Daduch or Torch-bearer of the Mysteries stood alone in his protest against any celebration of the ceremony out of time: this is doubtless very credible. Then (according to Plutarch) the Athenians passed decrees, on the proposition of Stratokles, that the month Munychion should be called Anthesterion. This having been done, the Lesser Mysteries were celebrated, in which Demetrius was initiated. Next, the Athenians passed another decree, to the effect, that the month Munychion should be called Boêdromion—after which, the Greater Mysteries (which belonged to the latter month) were forthwith celebrated. The comic writer Philippides said of Stratokles, that he had compressed the whole year into a single month.
This statement of Plutarch has very much the air of a caricature, by Philippides or some other witty man, of the simple decree mentioned by Diodorus—a special license to Demetrius to be initiated out of season. Compare another passage of Philippides against Stratokles (Plutarch, Demetr. 12).
[901] Diodor. xx. 110.