Zenobius 3.63

You shall sleep in a mortar

Image pending

English

Proverb

You shall sleep in a mortar

Explanation

some say Holmus was a seer; others, that those who slept in a mortar (holmos) became prophetic, whence the proverb. And Aristophanes the grammarian says that those who slept in a mortar became prophetic; and that the tripods of Apollo were called "mortars," and Apollo is called by Sophocles "of-the-mortar."

Greek

Proverb

Ἐν ὅλμῳ εὐνάσω

Explanation

οἱ μὲν Ὅλμον μάντιν φασίν· οἱ δὲ, τοὺς ἐν ὅλμῳ κοιμηθέντας μαντικοὺς γίνεσθαι, ὅθεν καὶ παροιμίαν γενέσθαι. Καὶ Ἀριστοφάνης ὁ γραμματικός φησιν, ὡς οἱ ἐν ὅλμῳ κοιμηθέντες μαντικοί· καὶ τοὺς τρίποδας τοῦ Ἀπόλλωνος ὅλμους καλεῖσθαι, καὶ Ἀπόλλων ὑπὸ Σοφοκλέους ἔνολμος.

urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0098.tlg001.1st1K-grc1:3.63