98 Part One: Texts and Contexts
to take these charges of paganism seriously. But to be victimized in such a
manner was most certainly a quite serious matter for those who were being
accused of supporting pagan ideas. Cephalas’ petty fears are therefore quite
understandable. In fact, seeing what had happened to one of the anthologists
of the previous generation, Cephalas had good reason to be afraid.
**
*
Grammarian Leo the Philosopher, Constantine the Sicilian & Theophanes the
The Apology of Constantine the Sicilian^43 provides an interesting parallel to
the defiant words of Cephalas’ prooemium: “This is the worthy plea for a
worthy cause, which I, the patricide of an impious teacher, piously put on
record, even if the Hellenes may fret with anger and rage in words along with
the Telchines”^44. The Apology is a very curious text. In it, Constantine the
Sicilian tries to defend himself against accusations of having shown a complete
lack of piety towards his recently deceased teacher, Leo the Philosopher, when
he publicly denounced him as a pagan. By good fortune we also possess the text
of the very poem that Constantine’s contemporaries found so repulsive: the
Psogos^45. It is indeed a sort of spiritual patricide. Constantine heaps a load of
bizarre allegations upon his former teacher. Leo did not believe in the triune
Godhead of the Christians, but worshipped the ancient gods: lecherous Zeus
married to Hera but always fooling around with his paramours, and all those
other ridiculous divinities of whom Homer sings the praises. Now that Leo is
dead and buried, Constantine wishes him a pleasant stay in hell where he may
be punished together with those cursed Hellenes whom he so much admired:
Socrates, Plato, Aristotle, Chrysippus, Epicurus, Proclus, Euclid, Ptolemy,
Homer, Hesiod and Aratus. Constantine regrets dearly that he discovered the
true nature of Leo’s teachings only when it was already too late; but now that
he has seen the light, he cannot but tell the world what his former master was
really like. That is why he repeats his allegations in the Apology, adding some
new damning evidence and declaring his adamant faith in Christianity with the
fervour of a newly converted. Reading the two poems, the Psogos and the
(^43) The lemma attached to the poem should be emendated into: äpolog5a [Kznstant5noy
kat2] L6ontoß Uilosöóoy, kaq\ Ùn Cristñn mên s6bei, t2 ^Ell8nzn dê óayl5fei, as MERCATI
1923–25: 235, n. 1, demonstrated. For the identification of the author, see LAUXTERMANN
1999a: 164–166.
(^44) Ed. SPADARO 1971: 201, vv. 31–35.
(^45) SPADARO 1971: 198–199.